HM Treasury

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Government plans to bring forward secondary legislation to implement the policy of prohibiting exit payments for public sector employees in England exceeding £95,000; and what steps he is taking to discourage such payments in the interim.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government announced in 2015 that it intended to end six figure exit payments for public sector workers. We legislated for a £95,000 cap in the Enterprise Act 2016 and are currently in the process of drafting the necessary regulations. In the interim, the government expects every part of the public sector to demonstrate that it is using public money efficiently and responsibly and to ensure that pay and terms are always proportionate, justifiable and deliver value for money for taxpayers.

Counter-terrorism

David Hanson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of losing access to the EU Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme on tackling terrorism in the UK.

Mel Stride: No decisions have been taken regarding how the UK will continue to cooperate with the EU on tackling cross-border crime and security threats as this will be a matter for negotiations. The Government has been clear that one of the 12 negotiating objectives is continuing to work with the EU to preserve European security, to fight terrorism, and to uphold justice across Europe. We are examining a number of options and as part of the negotiations, we will discuss with the EU and its Member States how best to continue cooperation on security, law enforcement and criminal justice, including access to the EU Terrorist Finance Tracking terrorism.

Health Professions: Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the widening access training scheme in the NHS applies to staff who work in health professions transferred to work in local authorities.

Mel Stride: Employers may offer a range of training opportunities to their employees. Whether a payment to an employee ‘in training’ qualifies for an Income Tax and National Insurance exemption will depend on the facts of each case. HM Revenue and Customs’ Statement of Practice 4 1986 sets out the circumstances when a payment by an employer to an employee can be exempted from a charge to tax. These rules apply equally to all employers - they are not specific to the NHS.

VAT: Scotland

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was collected in VAT in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in duty on (a) spirits, (b) beer, (c) cider and (d) wine in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: An estimate of VAT receipts attributed to Scotland is published in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)’s ‘Disaggregated HMRC Tax Receipts’ publication:www.gov.uk/government/statistics/disaggregation-of-hmrc-tax-receipts Receipts from duties on spirits, beer, cider and wine that are released for consumption in the UK are published in HMRC’s quarterly publication ‘Alcohol Duty’:www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx

Capital Gains Tax: Scotland

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was collected from Scotland in capital gains tax in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: Estimates of the receipts raised from capital gains tax (CGT) from taxpayers resident in Scotland, for the years from 2011-12 to 2015-16, the latest year for which data is currently available, are given below.   YearEstimated receipts for CGT from Scottish taxpayers (£m)2011-122762012-133182013-142382014-152912015-16309

Excise Duties: Scotland

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in duties on imported alcohol products in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in (a) import duties and (b) VAT on goods imported from outside the EU was paid in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in (a) import duties and (b) VAT on goods imported from outside the EU was paid on goods destined for sale or use in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: The information requested is not available.

Excise Duties: Scotland

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in vehicle excise duty in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is collected nationwide and since it is tied to where individuals choose to register their vehicles, there is no official methodology to identify the VED collected from Scotland.

Income Tax: Scotland

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was collected in income tax from Scottish taxpayers in each of the last five years.

Deidre  Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was collected in national insurance contributions from (a) Scottish taxpayers and (b) the employers of Scottish taxpayers in relation to their employment in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: Income tax and National Insurance receipts figures at a taxpayer regional level are not available. Information on total income and income tax liabilities, by region for tax years 2010-11 to 2014-15 inclusive can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-tax-by-county-and-region-2010-to-2011 Geographical breakdowns for National Insurance liabilities are not presently available.

Private Education: Fees and Charges

Alex Burghart: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the revenue that would be generated by introducing VAT on private school fees.

Mel Stride: Private school fees are currently exempt from VAT. This is in line with EU law, which does not enable us to apply VAT to all private school fees. Until we have left the EU, the UK will remain a member of the EU with all of the rights and obligations that membership entails.

Revenue and Customs: Reorganisation

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs Customer Compliance Group has made changes to its recruitment plans because of an overspend in 2017-18.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Customer Compliance Group is not expecting to overspend in 2017-18. At Spending Review 2015 HMRC committed to deliver £717m of sustainable resource savings by 2019-20, delivered through digitisation of tax collection and a smaller but more highly skilled workforce. Spending Review 2015 also confirmed £800m funding up to 2020-21 for additional work in Customer Compliance Group to tackle evasion and non-compliance in the tax system. Customer Compliance Group’s recruitment plans reflect these long term commitments.

Revenue and Customs

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish HM Revenue and Customs' review of its Needs Extra Support service; and if he will make a statement before the summer recess.

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Needs Extra Support advisers were employed by HM Revenue ad Customs in each tax year since 2013-14.

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many face-to-face visits HM Revenue and Customs Needs Extra Support advisers conducted in each tax year since 2013-14.

Mel Stride: As part of their continuous improvement process, HM Revenue and Customs is undertaking an internal review of its Needs Extra Support (NES) service to ensure that it continues to provide the same high level of service. There are no plans to publish this externally. The NES Service was not launched until May 2014. The number of NES staff that were in post at the start of each of the last four tax years are as follows:  Mobile Advisers (who visit customers)Telephony Advisers2014-151451692015-161391522016-171411472017-18131142 The number of face to face appointments booked in each of the last three full tax years are as follows:  Face to face appointments2014-1517,5562015-1625,6412016-1725,171

Private Education

Angela Rayner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the (a) tax and (b) charitable status of independent schools; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: Where an independent school satisfies the requirements of the Charities Act it may be recognised by the relevant Charity regulator as having charitable status. Requirements will include operating on a not-for-profit basis with a focus on the public benefit of the education they provide. Schools with charitable status that apply to HM Revenue and Customs may be eligible for a number of tax exemptions and reliefs. These include the ability to reclaim Gift Aid on any qualifying donations that they receive and exemptions on charitable trading profits, rental income, investment income and business rates, as well as certain reliefs from VAT.

Taxation: Private Education

Angela Rayner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has been made of the sum likely to accrue to the public purse from (a) changing the tax status of and (b) ending the charitable status of independent schools.

Mel Stride: No estimates of the sum likely to accrue to the public purse from changing the charitable tax status of independent schools have been made. Also, no estimate of ending the charitable status of independent schools have been made. Data held on charitable tax relief costs cannot be broken down into specific sectors.

Alcoholic Drinks and Tobacco: Minimum Prices

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of minimum alcohol and cigarette pricing on the ability of small and medium-sized retailers to compete with large national retailers.

Mel Stride: The government keeps all excise duties and structures under review. HM Treasury engages with a wide variety of organisations, including representatives of small and medium-sized retailers, to understand industry developments and the impact of policy changes.

Tourism: VAT

Steve Double: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the First Secretary of State of 26 June 2017, Official Report, column 342, if he plans to consult on the effect of VAT on tourism in (a) Cornwall and (b) the rest of the UK.

Mel Stride: The government has previously considered the case for a UK wide VAT reduction for tourism related activities. All taxes are kept under review and we remain open to fresh evidence and to further engagement on the effect of VAT on tourism.

Pay

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to tackle wage stagnation among young people and low wage earners.

Stephen Barclay: The government introduced the National Living Wage in April 2016, which benefitted around 1.7 million low paid workers and delivered the fastest wage growth for the lowest paid in 20 years. Furthermore, the government has boosted take home pay with increases to personal allowance, where 1.3 million individuals will be taken out of income tax this year. The government is also investing in young people, through expanding the apprenticeship programme in England increasing spending on apprenticeships to £2.5bn in 2019-20. Budget 2017 also announced an additional £500m to be invested each year in England’s technical education system. This will help give young people the skills they need to succeed in the world of work.

Universal Credit: Self-employed

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, of those who are self-employed more than 12 months and in receipt of universal credit, what estimate he has made of those who were previously on working tax credits before being moved on to universal credit.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stops claims for tax credits when a person claims Universal Credit with the Department for Work and Pensions. HMRC do not hold data on a person’s employment status when they are in receipt of Universal Credit and are therefore unable to provide the requested information.

Children: Poverty

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the one per cent public sector pay cap on the levels of child poverty since 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: The government is committed to tackling the root causes of poverty and considers work as the best route out of poverty. At Summer Budget 2015, it was announced that the Government will fund public sector workforces for an average annual pay increase of 1 per cent for the 4 years from 2016-17 onwards. The impact of this pay policy was considered for various groups and, at the time, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated that this policy would protect 200,000 public sector jobs. The Statutory Life Chances indicators on parental worklessness and educational attainment are published annually and track progress on tackling the root causes of poverty.

Foreign Exchange: Small Businesses

Andy Slaughter: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 69488, if he will place in the Library the results of the research commissioned by his Department on the effect of current pricing structures used by foreign exchange providers on consumer value choices.

Stephen Barclay: In its Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 69488, the Government stated that it was conducting research on the effects of transparency in overseas money transfers (involving foreign exchange), on consumer decisions. This research will help to inform the Government's response to the consultation on draft regulations for the implementation of the Second Payment Services Directive. This response will be published shortly.

Prosperity Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding will be available through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and what mechanism will be used to distribute that funding.

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be allocated on the basis of a formula or following a bidding process.

Elizabeth Truss: The government’s manifesto committed to create a UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Further details will be set out in due course. The government has provided a guarantee for all European Structural and Investment Fund projects signed before the UK leaves the European Union (EU) if they provide good value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities. This includes projects that continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department took legal advice on the target of upholding original decisions in 80 per cent of mandatory benefit reconsideration requests.

Penny Mordaunt: Further to my reply to PQs 1469 & 1470, the department does not have a Mandatory Reconsideration target for upholding original decisions. The 80 per cent figure is used to track and monitor Mandatory Reconsiderations to assess the quality of our initial decision making and to help understand and improve our processes. Therefore there was not a requirement to obtain legal advice.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on the trial of in-work progression for universal credit claimants; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: National roll-out of the in-work progression randomised control trial is now complete. Recruitment onto the trial ceased on 31 March 2017, and the trial will continue to run until 31 March 2018. We expect to publish the full evaluation report in summer 2018.

Children: Maintenance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses for determining the likelihood that child maintenance arrears will be collected.

Caroline Dinenage: The department publishes an annual estimate of child maintenance arrears in the Client Funds Account that sets out the three categories of collectability. 1. Likely to be collected: Debt which meets criteria indicating that the Department has a good chance of collecting it. The criteria are:At least one payment made against the outstanding arrears in the six months prior to the reporting date.At least one payment made in excess of the scheduled amount 2. Potentially collectable: Debt which meets criteria indicating that the Department has a reasonable chance of collecting it. The criteria are:The existence of a payment schedule at any point during the six months prior to the reporting date, even though no payments were received in the period.For recent arrears, i.e. aged three months or less, the receipt of at least one payment against those arrears after the reporting date.Debt on cases where enforcement action such as deduction directly from the non-resident parent’s bank account, or forcing the sale of their property is likely to be successful. 3. Uncollectable: All remaining debt which does not meet the criteria for either of the other categories.

Children: Maintenance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to collect child maintenance arrears, by category of collectability.

Caroline Dinenage: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 06 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The department publishes an annual estimate of child maintenance arrears in the Client Funds Account that sets out the three categories of collectability. 1. Likely to be collected: Debt which meets criteria indicating that the Department has a good chance of collecting it. The criteria are:At least one payment made against the outstanding arrears in the six months prior to the reporting date.At least one payment made in excess of the scheduled amount 2. Potentially collectable: Debt which meets criteria indicating that the Department has a reasonable chance of collecting it. The criteria are:The existence of a payment schedule at any point during the six months prior to the reporting date, even though no payments were received in the period.For recent arrears, i.e. aged three months or less, the receipt of at least one payment against those arrears after the reporting date.Debt on cases where enforcement action such as deduction directly from the non-resident parent’s bank account, or forcing the sale of their property is likely to be successful. 3. Uncollectable: All remaining debt which does not meet the criteria for either of the other categories.   The Department aims to ensure parents fulfil their obligation to make financial provision for their children and that maintenance is paid accurately and on time. Our priority, as outlined in our published Arrears and Compliance Strategy is to collect on-going maintenance and arrears in cases where there is still a child who stands to benefit. Child maintenance arrears are categorised in the Client Fund Account according to the likelihood of them being collected. We consider action on all cases that fall into the collectable and potentially collectable categories of debt. Where we are unable to take enforcement action, for example where we cannot trace the non-resident parent, cases will fall into the uncollectable category and will be reviewed as resources allow.

Caroline Dinenage: The department publishes an annual estimate of child maintenance arrears in the Client Funds Account that sets out the three categories of collectability. 1. Likely to be collected: Debt which meets criteria indicating that the Department has a good chance of collecting it. The criteria are:At least one payment made against the outstanding arrears in the six months prior to the reporting date.At least one payment made in excess of the scheduled amount 2. Potentially collectable: Debt which meets criteria indicating that the Department has a reasonable chance of collecting it. The criteria are:The existence of a payment schedule at any point during the six months prior to the reporting date, even though no payments were received in the period.For recent arrears, i.e. aged three months or less, the receipt of at least one payment against those arrears after the reporting date.Debt on cases where enforcement action such as deduction directly from the non-resident parent’s bank account, or forcing the sale of their property is likely to be successful. 3. Uncollectable: All remaining debt which does not meet the criteria for either of the other categories.   The Department aims to ensure parents fulfil their obligation to make financial provision for their children and that maintenance is paid accurately and on time. Our priority, as outlined in our published Arrears and Compliance Strategy is to collect on-going maintenance and arrears in cases where there is still a child who stands to benefit. Child maintenance arrears are categorised in the Client Fund Account according to the likelihood of them being collected. We consider action on all cases that fall into the collectable and potentially collectable categories of debt. Where we are unable to take enforcement action, for example where we cannot trace the non-resident parent, cases will fall into the uncollectable category and will be reviewed as resources allow.

Jobcentres: Sheffield

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to announce a final decision on Eastern Avenue Jobcentre closure following the consultation.

Damian Hinds: A Written Ministerial Statement was laid in the House on 5 July 2017. This statement confirms our estate plans for the future, including Eastern Avenue Jobcentre.

Home Office

Fire Prevention: Housing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many home fire safety checks have been made in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: Data on the number of home fire safety checks made by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) in England are published in fire statistics data table 1201 which accompanied the “Fire and rescue authorities: operational statistics bulletin for England 2015 to 2016” – the release is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics#fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics:-latest-versionData for 2009-10 are published in Appendix table 14 accompanying the 2009-10 release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics-bulletin-for-england-2009-to-2010

Cybercrime

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether the ransomware virus which began infecting computers on 27 June 2017 is able to bypass the patch released by Microsoft for all platforms from Windows XP to Windows 10.

Mr Ben  Wallace: On 27 Jun 2017, there was widespread media reporting of global ransomware infections. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are monitoring the situation closely and providing advice to the public and businesses.A variety of tools are publicly available to help organisations limit the spread and impact of the attacks that have occurred. NCSC have issued guidance that can be found on their homepage at ncsc.gov.uk found under the title "Protecting Your Organisation From Ransomware”. The NCSC constantly updates its advice in order to address emerging and existing threats.

War Crimes

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process is in place for individual constituents to bring alleged cases of war crimes to the attention of the war crimes unit and the relevant authorities.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are in place to enable people to bring allegations of war crimes to the attention of the appropriate authorities.

Mr Nick Hurd: The investigation and prosecution of individuals suspected of war crimes is an operational matter for the police. Any decision to investigate or prosecute is the responsibility of the police in consultation with Crown Prosecution Service. In particular, the War Crimes Team of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) has national responsibility within England and Wales for the investigation of such offences, including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture; it is their responsibility, accordingly, to determine the recourses necessary to carry out this function. Referrals from the public can be made directly to the War Crimes Team at the following email address: - [emailprotected]/*  */!function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e='',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/*  */ Guidelines on this referral process can be found on the Crown Prosecution Service’s website: - https://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/agencies/war_crimes.html As policing is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the responsibility for investigations into alleged war crime offences, and the referral system, is an operational matter for Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, respectively.

Restraint Techniques: Ethnic Groups

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on the disproportionate use of force against BME people in prison and police custody.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government is clear that all use of force in prison and police custody – or any other setting – must be lawful, necessary, proportionate and conducted as safely as is possible. If officers need to use force, it is right that they are expected to account for their actions.We are committed to improving transparency and accountability on the police use of force, which is why in 2014 the then Home Secretary asked former CC David Shaw (Chief Constable for West Mercia until July 2016) to lead a review into what data should be recorded and published. The review reported in 2015 and recommended the police record and publish the ethnicity, age, location and outcome for all incidents where a reasonable level of force is used, including physical restraint, less lethal weapons and firearms.All police forces in England and Wales have been working to implement this data collection system from April 2017. All forces are expected to publish their record level use of force data for the first time this summer. A subset of this use of force data will also form part of the Home Office 2017-18 Annual Data Requirement, which will be published on GOV.UK in summer 2018.

Police Stations

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the purpose of front desks in police stations; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: The purpose and use of front desks in police stations are local decisions for the directly accountable Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable of each area.

Drugs: Misuse

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government's policy is on the legal status of (a) Spice, (b) Black Mamba and (c) the new highly potent and lethal crystalised form of Spice.

Sarah Newton: A third generation of synthetic cannabinoids was controlled under class B of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in December. Synthetic cannabinoids are commonly found under a number of brand names, including ‘spice’ and ‘black mamba’, which contain a wide range of these substances that varies from sample to sample.

South Yorkshire Police

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers there have been in the South Yorkshire Police Service in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. The latest available data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 30 September 2016’ statistical bulletin, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2016 Data for previous years can be found in the Open Data tables, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539270/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods The next release of ‘Police workforce’ statistics is due to be published on 20th July, and will represent the picture as at 31 March 2017.

Drugs: Greater Manchester

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Greater Manchester Police have sufficient resources to reduce harm caused by the drug spice.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is an operational decision for Chief Constables, working with Police and Crime Commissioners to determine the best use of their available resources. The 2015 Spending Review protected overall police spending in real terms, and the 2017/18 police funding settlement maintained that protection.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of how many people on the sex offenders register will be moved to a reactive management monitoring regime in each of the next five years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what offences people on the sex offenders register, who are due to be subject to a reactive management regime, have been convicted of.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the people on the sex offenders register, who are due to be subjected to a reactive management regime, are on the Disclosure and Barring Services automatic barring list (i) with and (ii) without representations.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals on the sex offenders register who are deemed low risk (a) committed offences whilst on the register and (b) breached their notification requirements in each year since 2009-10.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral contribution of 3 July 2017, on the child sexual abuse inquiry, which police forces (a) are and (b) are not planning to implement a reactive management regime for some people on the sex offenders register in their areas.

Sarah Newton: The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders and we are committed to ensuring that the system is as robust as it can be. Registered sex offenders are managed by the police, who are in the best position to identify the risk posed by individuals. There is a range of legislative measures available to the police including civil orders to manage known sex offenders living in the community. On 25 January a new policing practice was rolled out nationally to address the increasing rise in the number of sexual offenders. This practice provides for a bespoke visit regime based upon the individual risk management plan for every offender, introducing reactive management for only those offenders who have been assessed as a low risk consistently for at least three years and have not reoffended. The offence people on the register have been convicted of, and whether they are on the barred list, are factors but not determining factors in assessing offenders risk. Other criminal justice partners and social care agencies contribute to the effective management of sex offenders through Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). These are statutory arrangements that seek to reduce the serious re-offending behaviour of sexual and violent offenders by the sharing of information. The MAPPA annual report contains statistical information on Registered Sex Offenders, including those who breach their notification requirements. The report can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/563117/MAPPA_Annual_Report_2015-16.pdf We are very clear that the police are best placed to assess the risk of an offender committing another crime, and they will rightly put the public first. No offender who continues to pose a risk to the public will be subject to reactive management but will continue to be managed closely by the police. Those offenders who are considered for reactive management are still subject to the annual notification requirements and monitoring through police intelligence systems. If at any point there are any concerns about an offender in reactive management, they will be reverted back to active management. The police estimate that of the 52,000 Registered Sex Offenders in England and Wales, those subject to the reactive management regime will, at this moment in time, be in the low hundreds. We continue to work with the Police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that the right powers are available for the authorities to tackle sexual crimes and to bring perpetrators to justice.

Radicalism

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2017 to Question 219, if she will publish the Home Office report on foreign funding of extremism and radicalisation in the UK.

Sarah Newton: I refer the Rt Honourable gentleman to the answer given on the 3rd July to question 1467.

Europol

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the potential loss of access to Europol's Terrorism Situation and Trend Report system on the UK's ability to tackle cyber crime.

Mr Ben  Wallace: In a modern, interconnected world, crime is increasingly international and does not respect borders. The Government is clear that effective cooperation with EU Member States on security, justice and policing in order to tackle serious organised crime will continue to be a top UK priority. Europol's Terrorism Situation and Trend Report system (TESAT) provides an overview of the terrorism phenomenon in the EU in a given year, including an update on terrorism related legislation, convictions and attacks. It is publicly available at https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/eu-terrorism-situation-and-trend-report#fndtn-tabs-0-bottom-1 . We expect the report to remain public. The content is not directly linked to the UK’s ability to tackle cybercrime. The 2015 National Security Strategy (NSS) confirmed that cybercrime is a top threat to the UK’s economic and national security. The UK’s future security and prosperity depends on our ability to safeguard the digital information, data and networks at home and abroad. The cyber threats we face continue to grow in scale and sophistication. The Government will continue to invest in law enforcement capabilities to ensure delivery agencies have the capacity to deal with the increasing volume and sophistication of cybercrime.

Action Fraud

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of fraud were reported to Action Fraud by each police force in each year from 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The way in which fraud offences are reported and subsequently recorded has changed in recent years. From April 2011 Action Fraud began gradually taking over the recording of fraud offences on behalf of individual police forces, completing in March 2013. Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre. The transfer to Action Fraud was rolled out at different times for different forces, therefore the year ending March 2014 was the first full year where all fraud offences previously reported to the police were recorded by Action Fraud. Due to this change caution should be applied when comparing data over this transitional period and with earlier years. The number of fraud offences by police force area is only available for the years ending March 2010 to March 2013, when victims of fraud were still able to report to their local police force. These data are published on GOV.UK in the ‘Police recorded crime open data Police Force Area tables’ at this website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables. The table attached provides information on the number of fraud offences recorded by each police force in England and Wales between the years ending March 2010 and March 2013. Since Action Fraud took over responsibility for recording fraud offences, victims reported fraud centrally to Action Fraud, therefore data from the year ending March 2014 is only available at national level and not by police force area. The Home Office collects this data via the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). These data, which are published by the ONS, are available in Table A4 of the ‘Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables’ at this website:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables.

Police Custody: Mental Illness

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) adults and (b) children with a mental disorder in each force area have been removed to police stations since January 2017.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to issue guidance on the circumstances in which an adult with a mental disorder may be removed to a police station under section 81 of the Police and Crime Act 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The circumstances in which a police station may be used as place of safety for an adult with a mental disorder will be specified by regulations. These regulations are currently being finalised and will be laid in Parliament as soon as possible thereafter. The Government will also issue guidance on the implementation of all of the amendments to sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 included in sections 80-83 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, in time for their coming into force. Data on the number of people with a mental disorder removed to police stations (under section 135 or 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983) since January 2017 is not yet centrally available. Data for the period between 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 will be included in Home Office statistics covering 2016-17, due for publication in October 2017. The latest published data showed a 54% reduction in the use of police stations between 2014-15 (4,537 occasions) and 2015-16 (2,100 occasions) for all ages.

Counter-terrorism: Police

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on public safety of decreasing the Counter Terrorism Policing and Protective Security Grant by 7.2 per cent in cash terms over the next two years.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Government’s top priority is the safety and security of the public. We have protected Counter-Terrorism police spend in real terms over the Spending Review period and invested in counter-terrorism policing to grow key capabilities, including providing £144m to increase armed policing capability.Funding for counter-terrorism policing is announced to Parliament ahead of the beginning of each financial year. The settlement for 2017-18 was published in a Written Ministerial Statement on 1 February 2017. Funding for 2018-19 will be announced in due course.To reflect how we fight terrorism in the 21st century we have increased total spending on CT across Government by 30% from the planned comprehensive spending review £11.7bn to £15.2bn meaning more money for our Intelligence service, police and other agencies.

Immigration Rules

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish new Immigration Rules and associated Guidance in response to the ruling in the Supreme Court case of MM & Ors v SSHD (2017).

Brandon Lewis: The Supreme Court judgment in MM (Lebanon) & Others upheld the lawfulness under the European Convention on Human Rights of the minimum income requirement for partner visas. We are carefully considering what the Supreme Court said in relation to cases involving children and to exceptional cases where the minimum income requirement has not been met. We will make a further announcement in due course.

Refugees: Syria

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 3 July 2017, Official Report, WS 23, if the Government will increase the number of refugees to be resettled under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.

Brandon Lewis: We remain committed to resettling 20,000 vulnerable refugees from Syria by 2020, as announced by the then Prime Minister in 2015. We are on track to deliver this commitment. We will continue to rely on UNHCR to identify and refer the most vulnerable refugees who have fled the Syrian conflict and cannot return to their country of origin, whatever their nationality. Resettlement is only one strand of our efforts in the region, and is complemented by the UK’s significant humanitarian aid programme and our diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. We believe this approach is the best way to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for the majority of refugees who remain in the region and their host countries.

Refugees: Syria

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 3 July 2017, Official Report, WS 23, whether it is her policy that refugees who are (a) Palestinian and (b) stateless will eligible to be resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.

Brandon Lewis: The extended scope of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme will make it accessible to the most vulnerable refugees in the MENA region who have fled the Syrian conflict, regardless of their nationality. This may include individuals who are Palestinian and stateless, if they are genuine refugees and cannot seek the protection of their country of origin.We will continue to rely on UNHCR to identify and refer the most vulnerable refugees but will no longer limit the scheme solely to those with Syrian nationality.

Visas: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications made in Scotland were (a) rejected as a result of the income threshold regulations and (b) granted an appeal in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: I am sorry but the information you have requested is not included in statistics published by the Home Office.

Northern Ireland Office

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his policy is on the establishment of a statutory duty on political parties in Northern Ireland to publish details of donations and donors in accordance with practice in the rest of the UK.

James Brokenshire: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave him on 5 July (UIN 1918).

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Foreign Secretary on obtaining compensation from Libya for the UK victims of Gaddafi-sponsored IRA terrorism; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: I have every sympathy for the victims of terrorist violence, for which there could be no possible justification.  My officials have been working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in relation to the Government’s response to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee’s report on support for UK victims of IRA attacks that used Gaddafi-supplied semtex and weapons, published on 2 May 2017. The Government intends to submit its response to the report after the summer recess. My officials will continue to engage closely with the FCO on this issue.

Political Parties: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons he declined the request of the Electoral Commission to publish the details of donations since January 2014 to political parties operating in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons he did not make retrospective to January 2014 the end of anonymity for political donations to parties in Northern Ireland during his statement to the House of 3 July 2017; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the political parties in January seeking their views on this issue and, while there was broad support for the future publication of donations and loans, only one party expressed support for backdating publication to 1 January 2014. Having considered the representations of the parties, I did not believe it right to impose retrospective regulations on those who donated in accordance with the rules set out in law at the time. The secondary legislation to give effect to full transparency which I propose would therefore apply to donations and loans received on or after 1 July 2017.

Conservative Party: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Conservative Party publishes details of the donations made since January 2014 to the Conservative Party operating in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The reporting of political donations and loans is overseen by the Electoral Commission. The Conservative Party is under an obligation to declare all reportable donations and loans to the Electoral Commission.

Department of Health

Organs: Donors

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report, Taking organ transplantation to 2020: a detailed strategy, published in 2013, what progress his Department has made towards increasing consent rates for deceased organ donation to 80 per cent by 2020.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organ donor organisation for the United Kingdom and is responsible for promoting organ donation and the matching and offering of donated organs. The UK Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 Strategy (2013) sets an ambitious target to achieve world class consent rates to donation after death of over 80% by 2020. One action to achieve this was the development of national strategies to promote a shift in behaviour to increase consent. The consent/authorisation rate has increased, from 59% in 2013/14 to 63% in 2016/17 but is behind the Strategy’s target of 70% for 2016/17. The rates since 2013/14, and the Strategy target dates, are set out in the table below. Consent/Authorisation1 rates by financial year Financial year2020 Strategy2 target rate (%)Actual rate (%)2013/1461.5592014/1561.5582015/1664622016/1770632017/1870N/A2018/1975N/A2019/2080N/ASource – NHS Blood and Transplant Notes:1 Authorisation is the term used in Scotland for consent.2 UK Taking Organ Donation to 2020 Strategy, July 2013 The 2020 Oversight Group (with membership from the Department and the Devolved Administrations, NHSBT, professional bodies and voluntary sector stakeholders) reviewed the strategy in November 2016. In addition to the specific actions recorded in the Strategy, the Oversight Group identified new actions that might contribute to increasing consent rates. These are outlined in the supplementary action plan available at: https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/2296/tot20-review.pdf NHSBT has also introduced several operational initiatives to increase the consent rate, including: a new role within the Specialist Nurse – Organ Donation team that focuses on obtaining consent to build greater expertise and experience; and a number of communications and marketing initiatives to encourage people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register and to tell their family of their wishes.

Heart Diseases: Surgery

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many paediatric congenital heart disease surgery cases there were in (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2015-16; and how many of those cases in each time period resulted in a fatality.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many congenital heart disease surgery cases there were in (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2015-16; and how many of those cases in each time period resulted in a fatality.

Steve Brine: The National Congenital Heart Disease Audit run by the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) began collecting data in 2000-01 and at that stage the 2000-01 data was based on paediatric cases only. There are no reliable data from before that period. In 2000-01 there were 4,105 paediatric surgical procedures and 227 deaths had occurred by 30 days after surgery. NICOR have provided the following breakdown of 2013-16 procedures which is due to be published in full later this month. In 2013-16 there were 32,033 procedures and 663 deaths had occurred at 30 days. Of these, 22,930 were paediatric procedures and of that total 570 deaths had occurred at 30 days. The Audit reports on three years’ figures due to the relatively small number of cases involved with a large number of different procedures, and in order to minimise the risk of identifying individuals.

NHS Shared Business Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of board meetings of NHS Shared Business Service he has attended in each of the last five years.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements are in place for independent oversight of NHS Shared Business Service.

Jackie Doyle-Price: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is not a member of the board, and as such does not attend board meetings. The Department appoints board members and has recently increased its membership to the board of NHS Shared Business Services to provide oversight.

NHS Shared Business Services: Correspondence

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to his Department has been of dealing with the NHS Shared Business Service backlog.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department’s role in responding to the incident has been absorbed within existing resources, and as such no separate estimate of the costs to the Department have been made. The National Audit Office published their report Investigation: clinical correspondence handling at NHS Shared Business Services, on 27th June 2017 and this can be viewed here:https://www.nao.org.uk/report/investigation-clinical-correspondence-handling-at-nhs-shared-business-services/

NHS: Contracts

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on whether any NHS organisations have previously let contracts for the delivery of services over a 15 year period.

Steve Brine: The Department does not have a central database of contracts held by National Health Service organisations. Information regarding awarded contracts is available publically on Contracts Finder.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether estimates have been made of the potential of break clauses included in the contract proposed by Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group for a multi-specialty community provider.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the length of time covered by the contract drawn up by Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group for a multi-speciality community provider.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group made of the potential merits of offering the new contract for a multi-speciality community provider for (a) five or (b) 10 rather than 15 years.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the potential effect of demographic change over the 15 year lifetime of the contract for the multi-speciality community provider proposed by Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provisions for break clauses are included in the contract proposed by Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group for a multi-speciality community provider.

Steve Brine: Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has proposed a contract of up to 15 years long. Proposing a longer contract length builds flexibility into the procurement process. This will minimise the risk of changes to the procurement and seeks to avoid a possible re-procurement at considerable cost. In all cases it will be for the Dudley CCG to determine the appropriate contract length. In doing so they would need to consider the appropriate balance between the potential for a longer contract and the stability that may provide and so encourage long-term service transformation with the scope to respond in a more agile way to changes in circumstances with shorter contracts. In designing the contract it will be important to ensure adequate break points are included. The contract framework will set out the circumstances in which the contract may be terminated by either party, and the process following termination. It will be for Dudley CCG to determine where the break points should be, factoring in the potential impacts on value for money. The contract will also contain a 12 month no fault termination clause which operates in accordance with the existing terms of the NHS Standard Contract. To support commissioners, NHS England and NHS Improvement published details of a new Integrated Support and Assurance Process (ISAP). The dual purpose of the ISAP is to guide the work of local commissioners and providers in creating successful and safe schemes and provide a means of assurance that this has happened. The ISAP process will also test whether the contract will deliver value for money over the full duration of that contract. As part of the commissioning process, commissioners (and providers where appropriate) will have to forecast the Whole Population Budget value for the duration of the contract. These forecast values should take account of expected future cost and activity pressures, for example anticipated changes in population size, demographics as well as inflation in health and care provision costs (as reflected in national planning assumptions).

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the assumptions which the Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group has made on levels of staff training and recruitment over the 15-year lifetime of the contract for Dudley's multi-speciality community provider.

Steve Brine: The Department does not hold any information on the assumptions made by Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The responsibility for ensuring adequate staffing across the lifetime of the contract rests with the Dudley Multi-speciality Community Provider itself, as the provider and contract holder, not the CCG.

NHS: Finance

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the capped expenditure process in the NHS is estimated to save in 2017-18.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on 27 June 2017 to Question 852.

Health Professions: Ministerial Responsibility

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which member of his ministerial team has responsibility for the allied health professions.

Mr Philip Dunne: I am responsible for the allied health professions.

Salmonella

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of salmonella were identified in (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, and (d) 2017; and of those cases how many originated in each non-UK EU country.

Steve Brine: Confirmed cases of non-typhoidal Salmonella in England are reported on the laboratory reporting database called Second Generation Surveillance System. The total number of cases reported for 2014 to the first quarter of 2017 (1 January 2017 to 31 March) are included in the following table. YearNumber of cases20146,93920158,18520168,2482017 (1st quarter)*1,419*Data available for 1 January to 31 March 2017 Note: data for 2015, 2016 and 2017 is still undergoing validation and therefore may change prior to publication.



PQ2202 attached table
(Word Document, 16.97 KB)

Motor Neurone Disease

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to double research funding for Motor Neurone Disease.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department funds research mainly through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The Medical Research Council (MRC), an independent research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy also funds medical research. The usual practice of the NIHR and of the MRC is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The MRC currently spends approximately £5.3 million per annum on research relating to Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The MRC, as part of the Network of Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration, has recently made available up to £1 million to support research in the United Kingdom. Spend by the NIHR in the Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health category ‘neurological’ has increased from £29.9 million in 2010/11 to £52.6 million in 2015/16 (the latest year for which data is available). There are no HRCS health sub-categories such as for MND or other specific neurological conditions, and information on total annual NIHR spend on research into treating MND is not held.

Health Professions: Recruitment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations has he received from Health Education England on the effect of the removal of NHS bursaries on staff recruitment.

Mr Philip Dunne: A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has not identified any items of correspondence received from Health Education England about the effect of the removal of National Health Service bursaries on staff recruitment. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings on workforce policy (including nurse supply) that Health Education England attend.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which public assets are subject to transfer of ownership in the contract for Dudley's multi-specialty community provider.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provisions are included in the contract for Dudley's multi-speciality community provider covering the depreciation, repair and renewal of publicly-owned assets.

Steve Brine: The Dudley multi-speciality community provider contract is not intended to be used for a transfer of public assets. It is worth noting that a significant proportion of the health estate in Dudley is currently under the management of NHS Property Services and on lease to existing providers. These leasing contracts factor any depreciation, repair and renewal of assets into the pricing. As under the NHS Standard Contract, the proposed contract imposes a general obligation on the provider to ensure that premises from which services are delivered and equipment used in the delivery of services comply with the requirements of Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. It specifies the requirement that all premises and equipment used by the service provider must be properly maintained.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who is responsible for costs in the event of the termination of the contract for Dudley's multi-specialty community provider.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what grounds the contract for Dudley's multi-specialty community provider could be terminated.

Steve Brine: The commissioner – in this case Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – is solely responsible for carrying out the procurement and it will be for the commissioner to determine break points, penalties, compensation and arrangements to ensure continuity of service. As with all standard National Health Service contracts, we would expect any multi-speciality community provider (MCP) contract to set out the circumstances in which the contract may be terminated by either party and the process following termination. It will be for the CCG to determine where the break points should be, factoring in the potential impacts on value for money. In accordance with the existing terms of the NHS Standard Contract, there will be a 12 month no fault termination clause. The Dudley MCP contract will ensure that in the event of a provider not meeting their obligations, and where there is a need for an early termination, the provider will be required to pay the commissioners any additional costs and expenses incurred as a result of the termination. This will include those incurred in recommissioning the services covered by the contract from an alternative provider for the rest of the term of the contract as well as ensuring service continuity.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who will oversee the quality of care provided by Dudley's multi-specialty community provider.

Steve Brine: As with other health care providers in England, the Care Quality Commission will provide independent regulatory oversight to make sure any health and social care services delivered under the Dudley multi-speciality community provider contract continue to provide the local population with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Dudley's multi-specialty community provider will be allowed to award bonuses to board members or executives.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether a salary limit will apply to board members and executives employed by Dudley's multi-specialty community provider.

Steve Brine: The commissioner – in this case Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group – is solely responsible for carrying out the procurement and it will be for the commissioner to determine break points, penalties, compensation and arrangements to ensure continuity of service. The Dudley multi-specialty community provider contract does not change the current rules in respect of salaries and bonuses. Should the provider be a public body, it will be subject to pre-existing requirements for public bodies to obtain approval for salaries above a certain threshold. In addition, the proposed contract requires: - transparency in respect of the earnings of any highly-paid individuals; and- certain conditions (relating to the provider’s financial status and liabilities, quality measures, and contract performance) to be met first.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the organisation awarded the contract for Dudley's multi-specialty community provider will be required to post a security bond.

Steve Brine: The commissioner – in this case Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group – is solely responsible for carrying out the procurement and it will be for the commissioner to determine whether there is a requirement to post a security bond. The need for any security bond will be determined by the prospective provider’s organisational form and financial standing. Where there is a security bond requirement it will be set as a condition of the contract award by the commissioner.

Health Services: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the effective spending of the additional funding of health services in Northern Ireland as part of the Government's agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party in the absence of the Northern Ireland Executive; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Health Service in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is overseen by the Northern Ireland Department of Health. The Health and Social Care Board is responsible for commissioning services, resource management and performance management and service improvement.

Dementia

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what projection he has made of the number of people affected by dementia in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Alzheimer’s Society has forecast that the number of people with dementia in the United Kingdom will increase to over one million by 2025. In February 2015, the Government published the Challenge on Dementia 2020 which set out more than 50 specific actions, across four core themes of risk reduction, health and care, awareness and social action, and research, that together will make England the world-leader in dementia care, research and awareness by 2020. We are transforming our approach to risk reduction to educate more people earlier about the risks of developing dementia and the steps they could take to reduce those risks. Public Health England has lead responsibility for this and will continue to work to reduce the incidence and prevalence of dementia through its work on initiatives such as the NHS Health Check and reducing health inequalities. Improvements to diagnosis is thought to be key to ensuring that the health and care system can manage the predicted rise in numbers, as well as ensure that people living with dementia receive the care they need. We continue to maintain diagnosis rates above the two thirds ambition nationally, and are taking steps to reduce local variations in dementia diagnosis.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who will make up the shortfall if the organisation awarded the contract for Dudley's multi-speciality community provider loses funds.

Steve Brine: The basic principle is that the Multi-specialty Community Provider (MCP) will hold a whole population budget and will be expected to manage any variations over the course of the contract duration. In this case, the Dudley MCP will be responsible for any shortfall.

Health Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what will happen to any surplus made by the organisation awarded the contract for Dudley's multi-speciality community provider.

Steve Brine: The provider must meet certain conditions before the provider can redistribute any surpluses. These conditions will be set out prior to contract award and relate to the provider’s financial status and liabilities, quality measures and contract performance. If conditions are met, the provider can distribute surpluses in the form of dividends or non-contractual bonuses. Dudley’s Multi-specialty Community Provider prospectus reflects an expectation on the part of commissioners that any overall surpluses should be reinvested in local service provision.

NHS: South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what costs have been (a) incurred to date and (b) committed for future periods for the development and management of the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

Steve Brine: Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP) have been developed by local areas. In South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw this includes eight clinical commissioning groups, and multiple National Health Service provider trusts and local authorities. These partners are contributing from their own staff resources to support the multiple programmes and work streams set out in the plan, and staff are working on the STP in addition to their other management roles. As a result, we do not hold the total cost of developing the STP.

Pregnancy: Streptococcus

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the National Institute for Health Research will begin the clinical trial comparing universal screening for Group B strep carriage in late pregnancy with usual risk-based care.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Institute for Health Research will launch the expression of interest for the trial to compare universal screening for Group B strep carriage in late pregnancy with usual risk-based care shortly. Following a full Health Technology Assessment board commissioning process, it is anticipated that the pilot phase of the trial will start at the beginning of 2019.

Pregnancy: Streptococcus

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to review Group B strep prevention strategies to align the UK with international best practice in preventing early-onset Group B Strep.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on reviewing UK National Screening Committee guidance on Group B strep prevention; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy, using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation; it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria. Guidance on early onset neonatal Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and other neonatal disease is provided by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Following the UK NSC’s meeting in February 2017, the Minister accepted the UK NSC’s recommendation that a population based screening programme for GBS carriage should not be offered. This is because there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits to be gained from screening would outweigh the harms. Although a population screening programme has not been recommended, the Chief Scientific Advisor recommended that the National Institute of Health Research should commission a clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against usual-risk based care. The Minister approved this and it is expected that the trial will provide better quality evidence to assess the clinical effectiveness, benefits and harms of a screening programme.

Homelessness: Health

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on medical conditions experienced by homeless people in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Public Health England has published guidance on homelessness for healthcare professionals and commissioners. This includes a link to the health audit toolkit developed by Homeless Link to help local authorities, charities and health services to gather information about the health needs of people experiencing homelessness in their area. Findings are available at:http://www.homeless.org.uk/facts/homelessness-in-numbers/health-needs-audit-explore-data

Nurses: Migrant Workers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the number of non-UK EU nurses working in the UK of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 June 2017 to Question 61.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England and other key stakeholders on putting in place support for families visiting relatives who are receiving out-of-area mental health treatment.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Departmental officials meet regularly with NHS England and other key stakeholders to discuss progress towards meeting the commitment to eliminate inappropriate out of area placements in non-specialist, acute mental health care by 2020/21.It is expected that local providers and commissioners should involve families and carers in patients’ care, and this includes making adjustments and supporting people to remain in contact with local support networks such as friends, families and carers to support the person’s recovery.Patients on low incomes are able to claim a refund of reasonable travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS).

Genetics: Screening

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the data from the BRC1/2 tests carried out by the UK Genetic Testing Network.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The data on BRCA1/2 testing rates is now available for 2014/15 and 2015/16 for England and Scotland. The published data can be downloaded from the UK Genetic Testing Network website at:https://ukgtn.nhs.uk/resources/ukgtn-reports/ukgtn-molecular-genetic-test-activity-rates-in-the-united-kingdom/

Ovarian Cancer

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the two research studies into ovarian cancer awareness which the previous Government indicated it planned to publish in the summer of 2017.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has published one full evaluation report on the pilot campaign and one interim report on the regional campaign for the Be Clear on Cancer ovarian cancer campaign. The full evaluation of the local ovarian cancer pilot campaign which ran from 14 January – 17 March 2013 it can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ovarian-cancer-awareness-campaign-local-pilots-evaluation-report The interim evaluation report on the regional ovarian cancer awareness campaign, which ran from 10 February- 16 March 2014 in the North West of England it can be accessed here:http://www.ncin.org.uk/cancer_type_and_topic_specific_work/topic_specific_work/be_clear_on_cancer/ PHE is planning to produce a full and final evaluation report for the Be Clear on Cancer ovarian cancer awareness regional campaign by April 2018. The Department’s Policy Research Unit on Cancer Awareness Screening and Early Diagnosis has undertaken a qualitative research study in which members of the public were given access to available leaflets on ovarian cancer awareness and then participated in six focus groups and interviews on their acceptability and how they would be received and understood if included within the clear screening results letter from the breast or cervical screening programme. This study is now complete and has been presented at the recent Cancer Research UK Early Diagnosis conference. The work is currently being written up for submission to a peer-reviewed medical journal. The Health Research Authority approval for a further qualitative research study with professionals has now been granted, and the work is in progress. A second project is a synthesis of published incidence, mortality, stage distribution and stage-specific survival rates for ovarian cancer by age. The aim of this project was to identify which age group would be most likely to benefit from such an intervention, in terms of risk of ovarian cancer, and room for improvement in stage at diagnosis. This study is now also complete, fully written up, and has been submitted to a journal for publication. The journal’s response is awaited.

Social Workers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many social workers are employed directly by the NHS in adult social care.

Jackie Doyle-Price: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 June 2017 to Question 691.

Social Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure adequate consultation with social workers on its proposals for social care.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government will work to address the challenges of social care for our ageing population, bringing forward proposals for consultation to build widespread support. The Government will work with partners at all levels, including those who use services and who work to provide care, to bring forward proposals for public consultation.

Health Services: Contracts

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical services contracts awarded to private providers in England are of a duration of longer than five years.

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) median and (b) average length in years is of clinical service contracts awarded to private providers in England.

Steve Brine: NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that this information is not held centrally. Clinical commissioning groups and NHS England are responsible for awarding and holding contracts with providers for the services that they have a responsibility to commission.

Mental Health Services: Prisons

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support is available for prisoners with mental health issues.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Health services for people in prison are commissioned by NHS England.Currently mental health services are delivered against a service specification which supports early assessment and management into treatment pathways.People with low to medium level mental health needs can access short form talking therapies as part of services in the stepped care pathway model. Specialist and psychological services are commissioned to support people with more severe and enduring mental health need.

Social Workers: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many social workers are directly employed by the NHS in adult social care in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Most social workers are not employed by the National Health Service, however there are a small number who work within the social services care setting and are employed by the NHS. As of March 2017 NHS Digital data shows there are 327 full time equivalent social workers directly employed by the NHS in the West Midlands and seven full time equivalent social workers in Coventry.

Disability: Children

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will meet representatives of the Disabled Children's Partnership to discuss its Secret life of us campaign for support for disabled children and their families.

Jackie Doyle-Price: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on 3 July 2017 to Question 1650.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fracking: Insurance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will require shale gas exploration companies to (a) take out insurance, (b) enter into a bond or (c) take other steps to ensure that they are liable for any future costs associated with maintaining exhausted or abandoned shale gas wells.

Richard Harrington: The central aim of the regulatory framework is to ensure wells are made safe so that they can be decommissioned with no need for on-going attention. Each shale gas licensee (and there may be more than one for each licence) is responsible for the well. When operations finish, the licensees are responsible for safe decommissioning of the well(s) and for restoring the well-site to its previous state or a suitable condition for re-use. The operator is required to design and construct an oil and gas well with a view to its safe decommissioning. The operator is also required to provide a notification to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prior to decommissioning and abandonment of the well. The notification and subsequent weekly operations reports, submitted by the operator, allow HSE inspectors to scrutinise the activity to ensure that the well is being decommissioned and abandoned as required by the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction, etc.) Regulations 1996. This requires all oil and gas wells to be abandoned in such a way that there can be no escape of fluids from the well or from the reservoir associated with it, so far as is reasonably practicable.

Manufacturing Industries

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support growth in the UK entertainment systems manufacturing industry.

Claire Perry: We are inviting a dialogue with any sector that can organise behind strong leadership to address shared challenges and opportunities. Sector deals are an ‘open door’ challenge to all sectors and are open to both established and emerging industries, and to sectors of all sizes.

Intellectual Property: Social Media

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of the infringement of intellectual property through social media.

Joseph Johnson: The Intellectual Property Office has commissioned independent research into the role that social media plays in directing consumers to physical counterfeit goods. The research looks at the role that social media plays in the sale and distribution of counterfeited and pirated physical goods from six representative sectors: alcohol, cigarettes, clothing, footwear, perfume and watches. The study attempts to assess the scale, impact and characteristics of infringements by reviewing the current literature and government and industry data, as well as a 3,000 person online consumer survey. The report will be published shortly, and will be available on the IPO website.

Business and Public Sector: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward proposals to encourage public sector bodies and private companies to relocate to Easington constituency.

Margot James: A key part of the industrial strategy is to drive growth across the whole country. To do this, the Department is committed to working with local partners. This is why we have provided £380 million growth deal funding for the North East Local Enterprise Partnership. We continue to work with that partnership to support their growth plans for the private and public sectors across the North East, including Easington.

Productivity

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve productivity in British commerce and industry; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: In January 2017 we launched our Industrial Strategy Green Paper, ‘Building our Industrial Strategy’.The objective of our modern Industrial Strategy is to improve living standards and drive economic growth by increasing productivity and making sure that growth is spread across the whole country.We have set up a £23 billion National Productivity Investment Fund to drive improved productivity across the country; including a £4.7bn increase in investment for science, research and innovation – the biggest increase in any Parliament in almost 40 years.We are also supporting a new private sector initiative led by Sir Charlie Mayfield with up to £13 million grant funding over three years to raise business awareness of productivity and to provide practical tools to businesses to improve productivity.

Self-employed and Small Businesses: Taxation

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on proposed changes to the filing of tax returns for smaller businesses and people who are self-employed.

Margot James: I and my departmental colleagues regularly hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Ministerial colleagues on a range of topics including the filing of tax returns for smaller businesses and the self-employed. The Government is committed to making it easier for taxpayers to get their tax right and reducing the level of the tax gap from avoidable errors. HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative is a key component of doing this. The Government is considering the consultation feedback received to ensure the successful implementation of MTD.

Private Sector: Billing

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from smaller businesses on the timeliness of the payment of invoices in the private sector.

Margot James: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received representations on this issue through a variety of channels, including in response to public consultations. The Secretary of State is committed to action in this area, including through the recently introduced statutory duty for large businesses to report on their payment practices and performance, the voluntary Prompt Payment Code, and the incoming Small Business Commissioner.

Public Companies: Directors

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to require the workforce to be represented on boards of public limited companies.

Margot James: The Government is committed to strengthening the voice of the workforce at boardroom level. The Government’s green paper on Corporate Governance Reform sought views on a range of options for achieving this including the creation of stakeholder advisory panels, designating non-executive directors to ensure that the voices of key interested groups, especially that of employees, is being heard at board level, and appointing individual employee or stakeholder representatives to company boards. The Government will publish its response to the green paper consultation in due course.

Small Business Commissioner: Public Appointments

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to announce the appointment of a Small Business Commissioner.

Margot James: The appointment process for the Small Business Commissioner is ongoing, with an announcement due to be made once this has concluded.

Self-employed: National Insurance Contributions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on proposed changes to national insurance contributions for people who are self-employed.

Margot James: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on a number of issues.

Energy: Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to encourage householders to seek the cheapest energy deals available to them to help them to cut energy bills.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to protect poorer households from fuel poverty caused by the high prices of pre-payment energy meters.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Minimum Wage: Unpaid Taxes

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total sum of arrears recovered by HM Revenue and Customs was for non-compliance with the national minimum wage in 2016-17; how many (a) workers and (b) employers those arrears relate to; how much of that total sum of arrears was recovered through the self-correction mechanism introduced in 2015; and how many (i) workers and (ii) employers those self-corrected arrears relate to.

Margot James: Enforcement statistics for the 2016/17 reporting year will be made available in due course.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013: Fines

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many financial penalties have been imposed to date on respondent employers for aggravated breach of employment law under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013; how many such penalties (a) have been paid and (b) remain unpaid; and what the total value is of penalties (i) imposed, (ii) paid and (iii) not yet paid.

Margot James: 18 financial penalties have been imposed to date on respondent employers for aggravated breaches of employment law under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Of these, 12 penalties have been paid and 6 remain unpaid either because the company has been dissolved or efforts by the debt collection agency for recovery of the amounts have been exhausted.The total value of penalties imposed is just over £54,400. The total paid is just over £17,700, which was fully paid within 21 days so the 50% discount applied. The value of the 6 unpaid penalties is £19,000.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fines

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 11 January 2017 to Question 58968, how many (a) warning letters and (b) financial penalty notices have been issued to respondent employers to date under section 150 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 for failure to pay an employment tribunal award; how many of those financial penalties (i) have been paid and (ii) remain unpaid; and how much in previously unpaid awards has been recovered by his Department following (A) the issuing of a warning letter only and (B) the issuing of both a warning letter and a financial penalty notice.

Margot James: Since April 2016, when the penalty regime for failure to pay employment tribunal awards started, 349 warning letters and 152 penalty notices have been issued.Four financial penalties have been paid and 148 remain unpaid. Of these, 101 are being pursued through a debt collection agency, 20 were withdrawn because the employment tribunal award was paid, 10 are not enforceable due to liquidation and/or insolvency and 17 are within the payment period.Over £500,000 in previously unpaid awards has been recovered following the issuing of only a warning letter. Over £91,000 has been recovered as a result of issuing both a warning letter and a penalty notice.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Homelessness

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2017 to Question 346, how many veterans were homeless in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Local Government) (Mr Jones) to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) on 10 November 2016.http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-10-24/50027



50027 - WQnA extract on Veterans Homelessness
(Word Document, 15.28 KB)

Sweden: Visits Abroad

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many official visits have been made to Sweden by officials from his Department in each of the last three years.

Mark Lancaster: Records for the full range of visits from Ministry of Defence officials to Sweden are not maintained centrally. As befits an increasingly close bilateral defence and security relationship, such visits are numerous and take place at all levels. In the last three years, my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary visited Sweden in November 2015 for a Northern Group meeting and talks with the Swedish Defence Minister, and on 30 June 2017 to mark Sweden (and Finland) joining the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force.

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether work on the site of HMS Victory 1744 is fully compliant with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Deed of Gift makes clear that any actions taken at the site of the wreck of HMS VICTORY 1744 should be consistent with the archaeological principles set out in Annex A to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Sweden: Joint Exercises

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received from his Swedish counterpart regarding the UK's participation in the Swedish Armed Forces Aurora 17 military exercise.

Mark Lancaster: No units from the UK Armed Forces are due to participate in the Swedish Armed Forces AURORA 17 military exercise.

Sweden: Joint Exercises

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which units from the armed forces will participate in the Swedish Armed Forces Aurora 17 military exercise.

Mark Lancaster: None.

Ministry of Defence: Buildings

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on utility bills for sites owned by his Department that have been officially closed in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: This information is not held. The Department holds utilities bills by geographical area and not by site.

Hyde Park Barracks

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans are in place to dispose of Hyde Park Barracks.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: No decision has been taken on the future of Hyde Park Barracks.

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's plans are for the basing requirements for the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence is reviewing how it supports state ceremonial and Public Duties within London. So far no decisions have been made on the future of Hyde Park Barracks and, therefore, no decisions have been taken about future re-provision arrangements.

Tornado Aircraft

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on implementing recommendation 1.5.7(a) of the Military Aviation Authority inquiry, published on 30 June 2014, to equip the Tornado GR4 with a collision warning system.

Harriett Baldwin: All Tornado GR4 aircraft have been fitted with the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. This work was completed, as planned, by the end of 2016. The system is now in routine use and has been very well received by RAF Tornado GR4 aircrew.

Department for Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his predecessor's letter of 20 May 2013 to the Coroner investigating the Lakanal House fire incident, what steps were taken to simplify the language in Approved Document B.

Alok Sharma: The Coroner’s report into Lakanal House recommended simplifying the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B). This work was being progressed.Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to look at wider issues. This work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire makes.In the interim, we have set up an expert panel to advise us on any immediate steps that should be taken to ensure fire safety. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given following Grenfell is set out in a note published last week at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions in each year since 2009-10 local building control authorities used their powers under section (a) 35, (b) 36, (c) 36 (6), (d) 77 and (e) 78 of the Building Act 1984 to alter, or cease building works because of concerns about fire safety.

Alok Sharma: My Department does not collect figures from local authorities on the use of these sections of the Building Act 1984.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire who have been recorded as made statutory homeless have been re-housed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council (a) in London boroughs neighbouring Kensington and Chelsea, (b) in London boroughs not neighbouring Kensington and Chelsea and (c) outside London.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have reported to Kensington and Chelsea Council as homeless; and how many of those people are now in temporary accommodation.

Alok Sharma: All those whose homes were destroyed in the fire, who have approached services for assistance have been provided with emergency hotel accommodation. Housing Needs Assessments have been conducted with 138 households and suitable temporary accommodation is currently being identified for them until such time as permanent social housing can be offered.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will review fire safety regulations to ensure that highrise accommodation is required to have more than one fire exit.

Alok Sharma: The Coroner’s report into Lakanal House recommended simplifying the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B). This work was being progressed.Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to look at wider issues. This work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire makes.In the interim, we have set up an expert panel to advise us on any immediate steps that should be taken to ensure fire safety. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given following Grenfell is set out in a note published last week at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will review fire safety regulations to ensure that cladding on highrise accommodation is fireproof.

Alok Sharma: The Coroner’s report into Lakanal House recommended simplifying the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B). This work was being progressed.Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to look at wider issues. This work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire makes.In the interim, we have set up an expert panel to advise us on any immediate steps that should be taken to ensure fire safety. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given following Grenfell is set out in a note published last week at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to ban the use of flammable cladding in new social housing developments.

Alok Sharma: Cladding using a composite aluminium panel with a polyethylene core would be non-compliant with current Building Regulations guidance on limited combustibility, if used as cladding on buildings over 18 metres in height.

Fire Extinguishers: Schools

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he last met (a) the Secretary of State for Education and (b) Ministers of that Department to discuss fire sprinklers in schools and BB100.

Alok Sharma: Officials from my Department have discussed the guidance (BB100) with Department for Education officials. It has always been the case, and remains the case, that where a fire risk assessment (required for any new building or a major refurbishment) recommends sprinklers are installed to keep children safe, they must be fitted.

Building Regulations: Fires

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to issue a review of Approved Document B (fire safety) for public consultation.

Alok Sharma: The Coroner’s report into Lakanal House recommended simplifying the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B). This work was being progressed.Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to look at wider issues. This work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire makes.In the interim, we have set up an expert panel to advise us on any immediate steps that should be taken to ensure fire safety. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given following Grenfell is set out in a note published last week at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

Social Rented Housing: Standards

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to review the materials used in renovating and building social housing in terms of their quality, fitness for purpose and safety implications.

Alok Sharma: All building work must comply with Regulation 7 of the Building Regulations 2010, which requires that all materials used are fit for purpose and applied, used or fixed correctly. It is the duty of the person carrying out the building work to comply with this requirement and the duty of the building control body to check that it has been carried out. Guidance on compliance is set out in Approved Document 7 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/material-and-workmanship-approved-document-7

High Rise Flats: Birmingham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many fire-safety checks have been carried out in high-rise residential blocks in Birmingham since the Grenfell Tower fire; and, of those checks, how many buildings have been identified as high risk.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 27 June 2017



We are currently collecting information from all social housing providers in relation to cladding on tower blocks. Testing is being undertaken by the Building Research Establishment where Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding is identified. We have alerted owners, landlords and managers of private sector residential blocks to the issue and have made the testing facility available to them.Where testing of ACM cladding reveals concerns, the priority in the first instance is to work with the relevant local authority and the fire and rescue service to determine the most appropriate course of action. Where we have results for specific areas, and tenants have been informed of the action to be taken, then further details will be released publicly.

High Rise Flats: Hornsey and Wood Green

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on residential tower blocks in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency which are clad in flammable substances.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 29 June 2017



The testing process for samples of cladding is underway. The landlords for all the affected buildings are expected to take action to inform tenants and implement the interim measures set out in guidance sent by the department on 22 June. We will name the area for each building that has failed the test once they have informed local residents. All Members will be informed by the local authority if any sites are in their constituency.

High Rise Flats: Hornsey and Wood Green

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on (a) high-rise commercial buildings and (b) public buildings in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency which are clad in flammable substances.

Alok Sharma: Our priority has been to identify and test buildings clad in Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) and which are either social or private rented housing, or public buildings meeting certain height thresholds. The Government Property Unit are overseeing checks on public sector buildings. The owner, Landlords, freeholders and/or managing agents are responsible for ensuring the safety of residents and occupants of their buildings. The Government has provided advice for landlords including an explanatory note on fire safety in high rise blocks and the testing process for ACM cladding on 30 June:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/624285/Safety_checks_explanatory_note_170630.pdfWhere screening tests indicate that ACM samples would not meet the limited combustibility requirements of the current Building Regulations guidance, the Government will inform the building owner and notify the fire and rescue service and local authority of the test result.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with (a) the Mayor of London, (b) the Leader of London Councils, (c) Greater London Authority members and (d) local authority leaders on fire safety standards in tower blocks.

Alok Sharma: Records of everyone that the Secretary of State has met and the purpose of those meetings are made publicly available on gov.uk every quarter.

Planning Permission: Christchurch

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Planning Inspectorate plans to convene a hearing into the appeal by the site owner of Tall Trees Park, Matchams Lane, Christchurch against the decision of Christchurch Borough Council in 2007 to refuse an application for a lawful development certificate; and what the reasons are for the time taken to convene that hearing.

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Planning Inspectorate plans to issue a start date for the appeals lodged by residents of Tall Trees Park, Matchams Lane, Christchurch in January 2017 against the Enforcement Notice of Christchurch Borough Council of 30 November 2016; and what the reasons are for the time taken to issue that start date.

Alok Sharma: The Lawful Development Certificate appeal was being dealt with through written representations, as requested by the appellant, and it proceeded to a site visit on 16 March 2017. Following the site visit the Inspector decided to change the procedure to an inquiry to enable evidence to be tested under oath and to link the appeal to the subsequently received enforcement appeals. We are working to resolve a number of complex issues on the enforcement appeals so that they can be started and linked as soon as possible.

Council Tax: Local Government

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what arrangements his Department has put in place to ensure a consistent approach between the Valuation Office Agency and local authorities on the designation of dwellings in respect of which council tax is payable rather than non-domestic rates; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Valuation Office Agency has statutory responsibility for maintaining the local list of both domestic and non domestic properties. The Local Government Finance Act 1992 defines domestic properties which are liable for council tax, and the Local Government Finance Act 1988 sets out the definition of non-domestic properties liable for Business Rates. Changes to the lists – including the transfer of a property from one to the other - are a matter for the Valuation Office Agency to determine rather than the local authority.

Tenants: Compensation

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information he holds on policies of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on compensating council tenants for loss of belongings.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 03 July 2017



The Government has made available a £5 million Grenfell Tower Residents Discretionary Fund to help meet the immediate needs of those affected. Each family whose home was destroyed is receiving a £5,500 payment from the emergency fund so they can buy food, clothes and other essentials. We are also paying all additional adults over 16 in these households £500 in cash. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is making additional payments to those affected on a case by case basis, for example to those whose home has been severely impacted but not permanently destroyed.

Housing: Construction

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much (a) Southampton, (b) the South East and (c) England has received in new homes bonus since 2012.

Alok Sharma: The New Homes Bonus was introduced in 2011/12 to provide an incentive for local authorities to encourage housing growth in their areas. Allocations for Southampton, the South East and England since 2011/12 are as follows:Southampton - £24,484,850South East - £1,057,643,786England - £6,073,404,201

Council Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the likely amount of council tax revenue that was foregone in the most recent year for which figures are available as a result of inaccurate banding of properties for council tax purposes.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the likely amount of council tax revenue foregone as a result of inaccurate banding of properties. Council tax payers have the right to formally challenge whether their property is in the correct band within six months of moving into their home.

Social Services: Finance

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been published to ensure that local authorities offer financial support to specialist care providers that cater for the religious and cultural needs of their clients.

Mr Marcus Jones: The department has published no such guidance. Local authorities are best placed to understand the needs of their communities and to commission services in a way which is most effective for those communities.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to provide funding required by (a) Hull City Council and (b) other councils to carry out fire safety tests on cladding on high-rise flats other than those which have aluminium composite material panels.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 03 July 2017



We are prioritising testing on buildings where people sleep overnight, which have Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding and are of a certain height. Where appropriate, organisations are working with the fire and rescue service to put in place precautionary safetychecks and measures.Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of a building, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent them going ahead.We have set up an expert panel to advise us on any immediate steps that should be taken to ensure fire safety, and we will act on those. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given following Grenfell is set out in a note published last week at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

Mental Health: Older People

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide guidance to local authorities on using Age UK's loneliness heat map to identify local needs.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance he is providing to local authorities on incorporating loneliness reduction strategies in strategic planning.

Mr Marcus Jones: With the support of the Department of Health, the Campaign to End Loneliness developed a toolkit for Health and Wellbeing Boards to help them better understand, identify and commission interventions for the issue of loneliness in older age. This was published in 2013 and can be found here: http://campaigntoendloneliness.org/guidance/In 2013-14, the Department of Health also added a measure of loneliness to the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework and to the updated Public Health Outcomes Framework. Local authorities can use this as guidance in identifying local needs.There are various statutory requirements on local authorities to develop strategic planning documents. Local authorities are encouraged to make use of the best available data in developing these documents. Local authorities must also have regard to their public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities.The Housing White Paper set out two ways in which the planning system will be used to deliver more suitable homes for older and disabled people:Paragraph 1.16 confirmed the strengthening of the National Planning Policy Framework so that local planning authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing requirements of groups with particular needs, such as elderly and disabled people; and,The Neighbourhood Planning Bill introduced a new statutory duty on the Secretary of State to produce guidance for local planning authorities on how their local development documents should meet the housing needs of older and disabled people. Guidance produced will place clearer expectations about planning to meet the needs of older people, including supporting the development of such homes near local services.

Supported Housing: Finance

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to publish the outcome of its consultation on funding for supported housing.

Alok Sharma: Developing a workable and sustainable funding model for supported housing is a priority for the Government. We welcomed the input into our recent consultation. We are also now carefully taking stock of the joint DCLG/DWP Select Committee report on supported housing, which was published over the election period. We will set out further details on our plans as soon as possible.

Non-domestic Rates: Schools

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate has been made of the potential sum accrued to the public purse from ending beneficial business rates status given to charitable schools in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20, (d) 2020-21 and (e) 2021-22.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not undertaken an estimate of the amount of business rates relief provided to schools with charitable status for the periods set out.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to publish the review of Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations following the Lakanal House fire inquest in 2013.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 04 July 2017



The Coroner’s report into Lakanal House recommended simplifying the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B). This work was being progressed.Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to look at wider issues. This work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire makes.In the interim, we have set up an expert panel to advise us on any immediate steps that should be taken to ensure fire safety. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given following Grenfell is set out in a note published last week at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

Grenfell Tower: Insulation

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the material used to clad Grenfell Tower was approved under British standards and has subsequently failed British Research Establishment tests.

Alok Sharma: The Government cannot release information specific to the Grenfell Tower, as this would currently cut across the police investigation underway. A Government note was published last week at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing , which explains the requirements in Building Regulations for external walls not to allow fire spread.

Building Regulations

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to reassure the public about the adequacy of building standards.

Alok Sharma: We are committed to looking at wider issues following the Grenfell Tower fire and this work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry make.We have appointed an expert panel to advise us on immediate steps to be taken following the Grenfell Tower fire, and will act on those recommendations. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given is set out in a note published last week at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential increase in heating costs for residents living in high-rise blocks from which cladding has been removed.

Alok Sharma: No assessment has been made at this stage. The priority is on testing samples of cladding, as set out in a note published last week at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

Right to Buy Scheme

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to expand the right to buy scheme to a national level.

Alok Sharma: Eligible council and housing association tenants in England can buy their home under the Right to Buy and preserved Right to Buy with discounts of up to £104,900 (£78,600 outside London).

Right to Buy Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he  will make it his policy to replace all homes sold under right to buy on at least a one-for-one basis.

Alok Sharma: Under the reinvigorated Right to Buy we are firmly committed to making sure that for every additional home sold an additional one will be provided. There is a rolling 3 year deadline for local authorities to deliver additional affordable homes through new build or acquisition under the reinvigorated Right to Buy, and so far they have delivered within sales profile. By April 2014 after the first 2 years of the policy there had been 10,933 additional sales and by April 2017 there had been 12,472 starts and acquisitions.

High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to decide whether sprinkler systems should be a mandatory requirement for high-rise buildings.

Alok Sharma: The Department wrote to all social housing providers in 2013, encouraging them to act on the recommendations in a Coroner’s report into firefighter deaths which occurred at Shirley Towers in Southampton in April 2010. That letter encouraged providers to consider the retrofitting of sprinklers in older residential tower blocks. The Department then reinforced the content of that letter in it’s response to the Coroner’s report into the Lakanal House Fire – a copy of which can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205567/Annex_B_-_SoS_DCLG_Rule_43_response.pdfWe are committed to looking at wider issues following the Grenfell Tower fire and this work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry makes.We have appointed an expert panel to advise us on immediate steps to be taken following the Grenfell Tower fire, and will act on those recommendations where necessary. The role of the expert panel and the advice already given is set out in a note published last week at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether representations were made to his Department by representatives of the Building Research Establishment in 2016 on the presence of combustible materials in tall buildings not compromising relevant building regulations.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire Regulations

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether Sir Peter Bonfield, Chief Executive of the Building Research Establishment, approved the guidance document BR135 as part of the regulatory scheme set out in Fire Safety: Approved Document B: 2 under which Grenfell Tower was refurbished in 2016.

Alok Sharma: The document BR135 is referenced in Approved Document B. Approved Documents are approved by the Secretary of State under the Building Act 1984. The 2006 edition was therefore approved by Ministers of the then Government.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to broaden the scope of combustibility testing as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire to include (a) insulation materials and (b) other materials used in the construction, refurbishment or maintenance of tall buildings in the UK.

Alok Sharma: On 30 June, we published a note at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testingThis note sets out how the testing of cladding is being carried out. On 6 July we then published details of further tests to be carried out as the next step in helping landlords to ensure the safety of their buildings. These large scale tests will help establish how different types of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels, in combination with different types of insulation, behave in a fire. Further detail about the next testing stage can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expert-panel-recommends-further-tests-on-cladding-and-insulation

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how the combustibility testing regime being used to test samples of building materials as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire was chosen.

Alok Sharma: On 30 June, we published a note at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testingThis note sets out how the screening methodology for testing of cladding was chosen. On 6 July we then published details of further tests to be carried out as the next step in helping landlords to ensure the safety of their buildings. These large scale tests will help establish how different types of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels, in combination with different types of insulation, behave in a fire. Further detail about the next testing stage can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expert-panel-recommends-further-tests-on-cladding-and-insulation

Housing: Fire Prevention

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to use the authority given to him in the Building Act 1984 to retroactively enforce the standards laid out in the Building Regulations England & Wales Part B (2006) Fire Safety in Dwelling Houses on all buildings and compel all building owners to undertake a fire safety check.

Alok Sharma: There are no powers in the Building Act 1984 to require retroactive compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations or to compel building owners to carry out fire safety checks. In some cases there may be requirements for fire safety checks under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005.

Social Services: Minority Groups

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to create a centrally-held funding source to local authorities who provide care and support to people from religious minorities requiring care from specialist providers.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government periodically assesses resourcing requirements for local government as part of each Spending Review. It is for local authorities to best determine how to meet the needs of their communities which would include how best to commission specialist provision if necessary.

Devolution: Yorkshire and the Humber

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the Government's policy is on a devolved settlement for Yorkshire.

Jake Berry: Across England we are making huge strides towards rebalancing the economy and empowering local government. On 4 May, the first six city region mayors were elected for Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, the West of England and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – representing 9.8 million people in England. We remain committed to our ambitious devolution deal with Sheffield City Region, comprising the local authority areas of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield. The mayoral election will take place in May 2018. Against this background, we intend to have early meetings with local businesses and political leaders, as it is important to agree a separate deal which includes West Yorkshire.

Housing: Freehold

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulations governing the level of management fees which can be charged to freeholders of new build properties.

Alok Sharma: Two codes of management practice, approved by the Secretary of State in June 2016, for the residential leasehold sector already exist. These codes set out the law and best practice, and can be used in evidence in Court or tribunal proceedings.

Social Rented Housing: Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information he holds on what housing functions in Kensington and Chelsea Council have been contracted to the private sector; and when each such function was so contracted.

Alok Sharma: Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) was established in 1996, taking over management responsibilities for 9,760 properties from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.The Government does not hold information on KCTMO’s management agreement with the local authority, including any agreements between KCTMO and the local authority regarding the sub-contracting of any housing functions.

Scotland Office

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he will seek additional resources for Scotland under the Barnett Formula principle as a result of the agreement reached between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party on confidence and supply.

David Mundell: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 5 July 2017 (UIN 1595).

Scotland Office: Social Media

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising in each month since January 2016.

David Mundell: Scotland Office social media advertising spend for the given period is shown below: January 2016£0.00February 2016£0.00March 2016£370.56April 2016£126.01May 2016£1,070.61June 2016£529.84July 2016£403.46August 2016£0.00September 2016£449.77October 2016£0.00November 2016£0.00December 2016£235.41January 2017£469.62February 2017£925.81March 2017£11,745.11April 2017£86.24May 2017£0.00Jun3 2017£468.38  Total£16,880.82

Scotland Office: Public Relations

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the cost to the public purse was of his Department's communications team in the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

David Mundell: The cost of the communications team at the Scotland Office was £686,166.29 in 2016-17.

Department for International Trade

Fairtrade Initiative

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the value of the Fairtrade scheme in potential future trading deals with countries outside of the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: The UK has a strong history of promoting our values globally, including longstanding support for Fairtrade. We will in due course consider all options in the design of future bilateral trade and investment agreements. We are committed to ensuring that when companies source from developing countries, they do so in a way which protects the human rights of workers and their health and safety.

Campaign against Arms Trade

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will list the costs incurred by the Government in the legal case on arms sales to Saudi Arabia brought against it by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

Mark Garnier: Holding answer received on 04 July 2017



The Department for International Trade does not comment on on-going legal matters.

Overseas Trade: Commonwealth

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions has he had with his counterparts in Commonwealth countries on the future of trade and investment between the UK and other member states.

Greg Hands: In March 2017 the Commonwealth Trade Ministers' Meeting was held in London. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy met over 20 trade ministers from across the Commonwealth. My Ministerial colleagues and I continue to have a range of contacts with counterparts from the Commonwealth, both specifically in preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Summit and as part of our ongoing bilateral trade relationships.

Exports: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how the Government plans to ensure that the North East remains a national leader in exports.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade (DIT) has a number of initiatives aimed at increasing the number of North East businesses exporting by improving the export confidence and capability of small and medium-sized enterprises who currently don’t export or export little. In addition, North East businesses are able to take part in DIT Northern Powerhouse trade missions in 2017-18.

Overseas Trade: Israel

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage and facilitate trade cooperation between the UK and Israel in the (a) agricultural technology and (b) high-tech sector.

Mark Garnier: The UK and Israel have a strong and important trading relationship, and we are committed to strengthening that relationship.We have a dedicated team based in our Embassy in Tel Aviv which actively promotes trade cooperation between UK and Israeli companies.We have also established a UK-Israel Tech Hub, which helps to create partnerships between British companies and world class Israeli innovators across a wide range of tech sectors, including agriculture.

Trade Agreements: Israel

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether progress has been made on securing a trade agreement between the UK and Israel for when the UK is no longer part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Mark Garnier: As we leave the European Union, we are seeking to replicate all existing EU free trade agreements and other EU preferential arrangements so as to ensure continuity in our trade and investment relationships with third countries.The Prime Minister met the Israeli Prime Minister in February and agreed to establish a joint trade working group. In March, my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy visited Israel to chair the first meeting of the working group. We continue to liaise closely with the Israeli Government on maximising future trade opportunities and ensuring a smooth transition for business, as we leave the EU.

Exports: Defence Equipment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will place in the Library studies produced by the Defence and Security Organisation and Defence Growth Partnership that examine the potential market landscape for UK naval exports in the five to 15-year market.

Mark Garnier: Market analysis relating to the potential for future naval exports is classified and commercially sensitive. There are therefore no plans to place such studies in the Library of the House.

Commonwealth: Overseas Trade

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, What recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other Commonwealth countries on the future of trade and investment between the UK and those countries.

Greg Hands: Ministerial colleagues and I regularly engage with business stakeholders and policy makers in Commonwealth partner countries.In March, my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy (Lord Price) and I met over 20 visiting trade ministers at the inaugural Commonwealth Trade Ministers' Meeting. We discussed strengthening collaboration and deepening intra-Commonwealth trade and investment.We are now preparing for the Commonwealth Summit in 2018.

Women and Equalities

Equality

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to open up more work opportunities for women.

Anne Milton: The right to Shared Parental Leave and the right to request flexible working help share caring responsibilities more fairly in families so that women can fulfil their potential at work. We are doubling the childcare entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds from 15 to 30 hours a week from September 2017. We have also allocated £5 million to help people return to work after a break in employment, the majority of whom will be women.

Department for Transport

Govia Thameslink Railway

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when a decision will be made on the outstanding force majeure claims made by the Govia Thameslink Railway.

Paul Maynard: The Force Majeure claim for official and unofficial action by train crew on Southern is extremely large and complex. The Department are finalising the assessment of the claim and will be informing Govia Thameslink Railway in due course.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration his Department has given to the recommendations in Appendix 9 of the independent report, Changes to improve the performance of the Southern network and train services, and restore passenger confidence, when assessing Govia Thameslink Railway's outstanding force majeure claims.

Paul Maynard: These recommendations will be considered alongside the rest of the report. Chris Gibb did not make any specific recommendations relating to the assessment of Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) claim for Force Majeure which is being assessed in accordance with the terms of GTR’s franchise agreement.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any of the recommendations on the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise agreement in Appendix 9 of the independent report by Chris Gibb have been taken forward with (a) GTR and (b) Network Rail; and if he will place a copy of that report in the Library.

Paul Maynard: All recommendations in the Gibb report have been considered by DfT. Any recommendations about GTR’s current franchise agreement are considered commercial in confidence. The report has been published on GOV.UK and placed in Libraries of both Houses. Please see links provided: GOV.UK website link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/southern-rail-network-gibb-reportSoS response link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gibb-report-on-southern-rail-network-government-response

Govia Thameslink Railway

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has provided relief to Govia Thameslink Railway from contractual payments against benchmark targets in the current franchise agreement for Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern passenger services.

Paul Maynard: The Department has not provided relief to Govia Thameslink Railway from contractual payments against its benchmark targets. The Department assesses any payments in accordance with the terms of the Franchise Agreement.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of the force majeure claims from Govia Thameslink Railway for the current franchise agreement for Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern passenger services have been expedited by his Department; and for what periods those claims apply.

Paul Maynard: Since the start of the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise, nine Force Majeure Events have occurred. These events occurred during the following periods: January, February, July, September, October and December 2015, January, February 2016 and May 2016 to March 2017. The claims for seven of these events have been assessed, the remaining events, including that relating to official and unofficial action by train crew on Southern are currently being assessed. The Force Majeure claim for official and unofficial action by train crew on Southern is extremely large and complex. The Department are finalising the assessment of the claim and will be informing GTR in due course.

Driving: Licensing

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the DVLA plans to process the application by Mr Bentall of Christchurch for the reinstatement of his driving licence; and what the reasons are for the time taken in dealing with that case.

Jesse Norman: I will write directly to my honourable Friend about Mr Bentall’s driving licence application.

Cycling: Southampton

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much central government investment Southampton has received to upgrade its cycling network in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: Since 2010, local authorities have benefited from funding for sustainable transport initiatives, including cycling and walking, through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and its successors the Sustainable Travel Transition Year and Access Fund. Details of the areas where DfT funding has been allocated can be found at: http://maps.dft.gov.uk/funding-for-sustainable-travel/index.html Southampton received £4.947m from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund between 2011 and 2016 for a range of measures to reduce carbon which included walking and cycling initiatives, and will receive a further £2.3m from the Access Fund between 2017 and 2020. In addition, Southampton Central station benefited from a £150,000 cycle-rail grant in 2012/13, and the Department has funded around £220,000 worth of Bikeability cycle training in Southampton over the last five years. Southampton has also received funding over the last five years through the Government’s Local Growth Fund, Highways Maintenance Block and the Integrated Transport Block. As this funding is not ring-fenced, however, the Department does not hold data on how much of it may have been spent on cycling networks.

M62

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for completion of roadworks and lane closures on the M62 between Hull and Manchester.

Jesse Norman: The Government is upgrading the M62 between Leeds and Manchester to a 4 lane smart motorway to reduce congestion and improve journeys. This is part of the current £15 billion investment in England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads. The section from Junctions 18 to 20 is expected to complete later this year. Work on the Junctions 20 to 25 section is anticipated to start in 2019/20. As with any road, essential maintenance and repair work is also required from time to time. Highways England works hard to minimise the impact of major upgrades and maintenance on road users by carrying out work at night, or using narrow lanes to maintain the same capacity through roadworks, wherever it can.

British Transport Police: Staff

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that the British Transport Police publishes in full all information relating to its staffing levels in its operations (a) in London as funded by Transport for London and (b) elsewhere.

Paul Maynard: The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) publishes information on the staffing levels in the British Transport Police (BTP) in its annual Policing Plan, the most recent one of which is available at http://btpa.police.uk/publications/policing-plans/. We understand that the BTP will be responding to a recent FOI request with information on its staffing levels in London (as funded by Transport for London) and elsewhere later this month. It is BTP’s practice to publish the responses to FOI requests on the force website at the following link: http://www.btp.police.uk/about_us/your_right_to_information/publication_scheme/disclosure_log.aspx.

Road Traffic Offences

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department's next periodic survey of seatbelt and mobile telephone use by motorists (a) covers London in its survey sample and (b) takes account of taxi and private hire vehicles and their use of cradled mobile telephones.

Jesse Norman: The Department’s survey of hand-held mobile phone use and seat belt compliance has been designed primarily to produce national rather than regional estimates for Great Britain. A new survey for 2017 is currently being procured, which includes options to allow extra surveys to be commissioned for specific areas, including by Transport for London to secure London level data.The survey will record data about taxi and private hire vehicles; however, no currently tested methodology enables information to be gathered about the use of cradled mobile telephones using roadside observation.

Identity Cards: Shipping

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the UK to ratify International Labour Organisation Convention 185 on seafarers' identity documents; and what recent steps he has taken towards obtaining ratification.

Mr John Hayes: The UK has always been supportive of the Convention but in line with a number of other States preferred alignment with the International Civil Aviation Organizations Standards for Travel Documents (ICAO 9303) as this provided for a more secure document. The UK was a key State in pushing through the amendments that were formally adopted in 2016 that finally aligned the Convention with ICAO 9303. There are now a number of technical and practical issues that the UK needs to resolve and that we are actively working on. Providing these can be suitably addressed we can then consider ratification.

Buses: Tyres

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that tyres used for public service vehicles do not exceed 10-years of age.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to commission research into tyre ageing on public service vehicles.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has had with representatives from the tyre industry on ageing tyres on public service vehicles since September 2012.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will publish research which was planned in December 2013 into ageing tyres on buses and coaches.

Jesse Norman: In 2013 the Department distributed information to bus and coach operators that provided guidance on how to establish the age of a tyre and gave precautionary advice that tyres over 10-years of age should only be fitted as part of a twin-wheel arrangement on a rear axle. This advice is reinforced by enforcement staff of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency who have been tasked with advising operators WHERE non-compliance is identified. The Department has sought information concerning tyre ageing from both the UK and European trade associations of the tyre manufacturing and distribution industry. ItS STAFF haVE also attended manufacturing facilities in Northern Ireland and France, and remanufacturing facilities in the UK, to UNDERSTAND THE BEST ADVISED VIEW of tyre ageing within the industry. Expert advice suggests that tyre ageing is related to use and maintenance rather than simply chronological age. These discussions HAVE influenced the production of the “Guide to Tyre Management on Heavy Vehicles” a free GUIDE produced with the support of the tyre industry, Senior Traffic Commissioner Bell and the Department. It sets out industry-recognised best practice regarding tyre maintenance and provides advice to operators about tyre choice, maintenance and safety. In October 2016, copies of the guide were sent to every registered bus and coach operator in the country. The Department has gone to the market twice to commission research to establish scientific evidence in this field. These approaches have not been successful in establishing a robust programme of research, and the Department is reviewing these outcomes to establish how to proceed. The Department will publish the outcome of the research once completed.

Railway Stations: Disability

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on securing a new round of access-for-all funding to improve railway station access for disabled people and other vulnerable rail users; and what assessment he has made of the need for better accessibility at Marks Tey railway station.

Paul Maynard: The Secretary of State is in regular contact with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about future rail funding and last met him on Monday 26 June to discuss the high level desired outcomes from the rail network for the next investment period. Marks Tey station currently has step free access to both platforms but no step free interchange between them.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to expedite completion of planned upgrades to the A1 and A19.

Jesse Norman: Highways England is working hard to deliver the improvements set out in the Roads Investment Strategy and in Highways England’s Delivery Plan as quickly as possible. In the Yorkshire and North East region a number of schemes will be delivered on the A1 and the A19.Highways England is currently undertaking advanced surveys to inform and accelerate the development of these schemes where possible. These surveys include ecology, ground investigation, topographical and drainage surveys. Highways England will continue to work with the general public and with local councils and statutory bodies to identify potential opportunities to accelerate the works as the schemes develop.

East Coast Railway Line

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to remove capacity constraints on the East Coast Mainline.

Paul Maynard: Infrastructure schemes to improve capacity and reduce journey times are already being designed and delivered by Network Rail as part of the East Coast enhancements programme. These schemes include reinstating a fourth line between Huntingdon and Woodwalton and grade separating Werrington Junction, both of which will better segregate freight and passenger services resulting in capacity improvements and an increase in long distance services. The first of these East Coast enhancements, delivering a new platform at Doncaster station, was completed in early 2017 and is allowing local services to operate without conflicting with intercity trains. Network Rail are also delivering infrastructure enhancements as part of the Intercity Express Programme, allowing new trains to operate from December 2018. These new trains will reduce journey times, increase capacity and improve the customer experience. The Government intends to articulate later this year its emerging priorities for improvements to train services and the national rail network (including possible enhancements to the East Coast Main Line) from 2019.

Tyne and Wear Metro: Rolling Stock

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to support the delivery of a new train fleet for the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport (DFT) is currently in discussions with Nexus regarding their proposals for new rolling stock on the Metro. DfT and HM Treasury officials are working with Nexus to understand the business case for the replacement of the current fleet and exploring various funding options. The Department for Transport continues to support the Metro by providing £317m through the 10 year Asset Renewal Programme to 2021 which delivers significant investment in infrastructure, stations and rolling stock. This is in addition to the £25m we provide annually by way of revenue support to help fund the day to day operation of the Metro.

Newcastle Airport

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is planning to take to improve road and rail access to Newcastle International Airport.

Jesse Norman: The Government is supporting a number of investments to improve access to the Airport. The £61m Coal House to Metro Centre improvement scheme is already improving journey times on the A1 and further phases are under development. We are also providing £317m for the reinvigoration and asset renewal programme on the Tyne and Wear Metro, which provides direct services to the Airport.

Highways England

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to require Highways England to publish the minutes of its board meetings.

Jesse Norman: There are currently no plans to require Highways England to publish the minutes of its Board meetings.

Public Sector: Pay

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the one per cent public sector pay cap applies to employees of (a) Highways England, (b) Network Rail, (c) the Civil Aviation Authority, (d) the investigation branches for air, marine and rail accidents and (e) HS2 Ltd.

Mr John Hayes: The one percent pay cap applies to the accident investigation branches. It does not apply to the CAA, which is a public corporation and is not covered by public sector pay arrangements. Highways England and HS2 Ltd have agreed separate pay flexibilities outside of the one percent cap with HM Treasury. From its creation in 2002 as a company classified to the private sector Network Rail did not have a public sector pay cap and since its reclassification to the public sector Network Rail has agreed separate pay flexibilities outside of the one percent cap with HM Treasury.

Network Rail: Assets

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 5 of the minutes of Network Rail's Board meeting of 28 September 2016, what the accounting reason referred to is which requires HM Treasury in turn to require the proceeds from asset sales to count towards general deficit reduction; and what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the proceeds of Network Rail's asset sales programme.

Paul Maynard: As a government organisation, Network Rail’s expenditure is recorded following rules in the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA10). My Department has agreed with HM Treasury that those asset sales classified as deficit-reducing under ESA10 definitions can fund expenditure on rail enhancements (expenditure which in turn classifies as deficit-increasing under ESA10 definitions). The Department holds regular discussions with HM Treasury on a wide range of topics, including Network Rail’s asset sales programme.

Cycling and Walking

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 30 June 2016 to Question 41299, on cycling and walking, and the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39847, on travel, what the potential effects are of the cycling and walking investment strategy on the figures given in the Answer to Question 39847.

Jesse Norman: The Department is in the process of producing new Road Traffic Forecasts to inform the development of the 2nd Roads Investment Strategy. These forecasts will reflect the impact of all major transport investment decisions made by the government since the last forecasts were produced in 2015, including the cycling and walking investment strategy. The new Road Traffic Forecasts will be published in due course.

Network Rail: Internet

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is his policy to migrate the current Network Rail website to the gov.uk website.

Paul Maynard: It is not the Department’s policy to migrate the current Network Rail website to the GOV.UK website.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Russia: LGBT People

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the safety of (a) LGBT fans travelling to the World Cup and (b) other LGBT travellers to Russia; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: As part of the 'Be on the Ball' campaign, the FCO has published specific travel advice for the World Cup next year (www.gov.uk/russia2018). We recommend all British fans travelling to the World Cup in Russia in 2018 have a close look at this advice. FCO travel advice for Russia is clear on the need to be careful as an LGBT visitor to the country, particularly following the introduction of a law banning the promotion of 'non-traditional sexual relations' in June 2013, given its potential to legitimise homophobia and encourage violence against LGBT people. The issue of LGBT rights is one that we raise regularly with the Russian authorities.

Russia: Human Rights

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications of the Human Rights Watch report on exploitation of construction workers building football stadiums in Russia on his policies towards that country; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: We regularly raise our concerns with the Russian authorities on their human rights record and we expect FIFA to do the same with regard to projects releated to the World Cup.Tackling modern slavery is a priority for the British Government and the treatment of migrant workers in Russia, including those involved in the construction of World Cup sites, is a matter of concern. The British Embassy in Moscow is funding an International Organization for Migration project to improve the understanding and skills of social workers in Russia so they can better support the victims of modern slavery. This should also raise awareness of the problem within Russian society.

Department for Education

Further Education: Staff

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the creation of a new national programme to attract experienced industry professionals to work in further education colleges.

Anne Milton: Our ambition for a world-class technical education system in England must be underpinned by high-quality teaching and leadership in the Further Education sector. We want to encourage experienced experts to bring their up-to-date industry-standard skills into the Further Education sector to enhance the quality of technical education. We are looking at ways in which we can develop more effective relationships between industry and the FE sector, and we expect to announce further detail in due course.

Technology: Educational Institutions

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the introduction of new institutes of technology.

Anne Milton: As part of our Industrial Strategy, we will deliver on our plans for new Institutes of Technology. These will enable more young people to take advanced technical qualifications, and become key institutions for the development of the skills required by local, national and regional industry. Further details will be published in due course.

Further Education: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on reviewing funding across tertiary education.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will publish a Green Paper on funding for tertiary education.

Anne Milton: Further detail on the manifesto commitment to look at the funding of further, technical and higher education will be provided in due course.

Teachers: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on teaching apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: Apprenticeships provide an excellent opportunity for individuals wishing to combine paid work with on and off the job training, and should play a key role for people entering professions – including teaching. A group of schools, led by Sir Andrew Carter, is therefore developing a postgraduate teacher apprenticeship, which will offer trainees high-quality, employment-based training and support schools to recoup their apprenticeship levy payments. We expect the route will be available from September 2018 and will confirm further details of this new route in due course.

Teachers: Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the introduction of a national retraining scheme.

Anne Milton: The Government wants to test ambitious new approaches to career learning, as announced at the Budget. Detailed proposals for implementing the Manifesto commitment to establish a national retraining scheme will be set out in due course.

Sign Language: Interpreters

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all British sign language interpreters use the same set of standards.

Anne Milton: People take BSL qualifications at a lower level and progress to a higher level. People also need to register with the National Registers of Communications Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind people (NRCPD). This information can be found on the careers advisory service site: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/job-profiles/british-sign-language-interpreter.

Lifelong Education: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure current levels of funding for lifelong learning are maintained after the UK leaves the EU.

Anne Milton: This year’s Budget committed £40 million to fund pilots that will test ambitious, new approaches to removing barriers to lifelong learning. These pilots are not funded through EU sources.In relation to ongoing EU sources of funding, the Government has said it will consult closely with stakeholders to review such schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate certainty. Leaving the EU means we will want to take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding.

Digital Technology

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her policy to set up at least one new institute of technology in the UK, dedicated to world-leading digital skills and developed and run in partnership with the technology industry.

Anne Milton: As Institutes of Technology are the responsibility of the Department for Education, I am replying to this question. As part of our Industrial Strategy, we will launch a call for proposals to establish new Institutes of Technology later this year, which will enable more young people to take the advanced technical qualifications needed for the high skills, high wage jobs of the future. Further details on the specific requirements will be published in due course.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if it is her policy to achieve three million apprenticeship starts by 2020.

Anne Milton: We first set out our commitment to reach 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020 in our ‘English Apprenticeships 2020 Vision Document’. We are still committed to this target - and remain on track to meet it. Apprenticeship reforms continue to improve the quality of apprenticeships for all, providing the skills employers and the economy need for growth.

Apprentices: Finance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will guarantee apprenticeship funding for non-levy paying employers in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, (c) 2020-21 and (d) 2021-22.

Anne Milton: A new procurement for services to non-levy paying employers will be launched at the end of July 2017. When we launch the procurement, we will set out how much funding we are making available to cover the period from January 2018 to April 2019 – the date by which we aim to bring all employers onto the apprenticeship service. Decisions on future years’ funding will be made on the basis of ongoing monitoring of employer demand, performance and budgets.

Apprentices: Vacancies

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment she has made of the number of apprenticeship vacancies posted by employers in May (a) 2017 and (b) 2016.

Anne Milton: The Find an Apprenticeship pages on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship offer information and guidance about apprenticeship vacancies advertised here – not all apprenticeships are advertised on this site. There were 17,350 vacancies posted on Find an Apprenticeship in May 2017, and 17,250 in May 2016.

Vocational Guidance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she remains on course to publish the Government's careers strategy by the end of the 2017 calendar year.

Anne Milton: We set out in the Industrial Strategy that we are reviewing the current careers strategy, and will build on the best international evidence to publish a comprehensive document later this year for careers information, advice and guidance across all ages. The Government will fulfil this commitment.

Lifelong Education

Alex Burghart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost of introducing free lifelong learning education in further education colleges.

Anne Milton: The Government offers a range of support for adult learners, including through the Adult Education Budget and through Advanced Learner Loans. Details of the funding are published through the Skills Funding Letter (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/599089/SFA_Letter_2017-18_final.pdf). The Government has also announced £40 million at this year’s Budget to fund pilots that will test ambitious, new approaches to removing barriers to lifelong learning.

Teachers: Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on establishing a national retraining scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Government wants to test ambitious new approaches to career learning, as announced at the Budget. Detailed proposals to establish a national retraining scheme will be set out in due course.

Pre-school Education: Apprentices

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to release new standards for early years apprentices at levels 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Anne Milton: The Institute for Apprenticeships is an independent body with responsibility for the development and approval of apprenticeship standards. I have therefore asked the Institute to write to the MP responding to the question about the development of Early Years apprenticeship standards. A copy of that response will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses when it is available.

Headteachers: Pay

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of head teachers are paid £150,000 or more per year.

Nick Gibb: As reported by schools in the November 2016 School Workforce Census, there were 74 head teachers earning more than £150,000 per year. This represents 0.3% of all head teachers in state funded schools in England.

Skilled Workers: Vacancies

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government plans to take to reduce skills shortages in the (a) engineering, (b) STEM, (c) ICT, (d) care and (e) accountancy sectors.

Anne Milton: The Government wants to create a world-beating technical education system and is investing heavily to ensure that it delivers the skills that the economy needs. We will be replacing 13,000 existing technical qualifications with new qualifications, known as T-levels, across fifteen routes in subjects including Heath and Social Care, Legal, Finance and Accounting and Social Care. The Government is creating specialist National Colleges to deliver higher level specialist technical skills in priority areas such as digital skills and to support national infrastructure projects such as HS2 and the New Institutes of Technology will deliver engineering and STEM skills. The Government will ensure that colleges deliver the skills required by local businesses by setting up new Skills Advisory Panels that will work with Local Enterprise Partnerships at a regional and local level.

Students: Disadvantaged

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Office for Fair Access report, Outcomes of access agreement monitoring for 2015-16, published on 29 April 2017, what assessment her Department has made of the growing gap in non-continuation rates between the most disadvantaged and the most disadvantaged students after the first year at university.

Joseph Johnson: Non-continuation rates for UK students at English Higher Education Institutions are lower than in 2009/10, including for the most disadvantaged students. Analysis by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has found that students’ age, subject studied and entry qualifications account for a substantial portion of the gap between the most and least disadvantaged students. The analysis is available here: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/ncr/nhe/. We want to continue to see reduced non-continuation rates for all students. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 requires institutions to publish admissions and retention data by gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background, and this greater transparency will help the Higher Education sector make further progress to build on what has already been achieved. We are working closely with HEFCE and the Director of Fair Access to target resources effectively and to ensure that universities take more responsibility for widening access and retention for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, prioritising activities that demonstrate the greatest value for money.

Kingsway Academy: Admissions

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all pupils attending Kingsway Academy will have a school place in the next school year, after the closure of that school.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are working closely with the local authority and the Northern Schools Trust on the transition arrangements for all pupils in the run-up to the school fully closing at the end of the next academic year.

Schools: Mid Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) cash and (b) per pupil funding has been provided to schools in Mid Sussex constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department primarily allocates revenue funding at local authority level.The schools block allocation for individual maintained schools for the financial year and academies for the academic year are published online for the following years:2016-17: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2016-to-2017.2015-16: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2015-to-20162014-15: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2014-to-20152013-14: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2013-to-2014The Department did not publish online the school block allocation for individual schools in 2012-13.Individual school allocations for 2017-18 will be published later this year. The formulae that local authorities have used to distribute funding to schools this year are published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-block-funding-formulae-2017-to-2018.We recently consulted on a national funding formula for schools. We believe that the current funding arrangements are unfair and we remain committed to changing them.We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation, which we are analysing in detail. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. We are unable to confirm the funding each school will receive in future years.

Schools: Mid Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the projected (a) cash and (b) per pupil funding is for schools for Mid Sussex constituency in each of the next three years.

Nick Gibb: The Department primarily allocates revenue funding at local authority level.The schools block allocation for individual maintained schools for the financial year and academies for the academic year are published online for the following years:2016-17: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2016-to-2017.2015-16: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2015-to-20162014-15: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2014-to-20152013-14: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2013-to-2014The Department did not publish online the school block allocation for individual schools in 2012-13.Individual school allocations for 2017-18 will be published later this year. The formulae that local authorities have used to distribute funding to schools this year are published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-block-funding-formulae-2017-to-2018.We recently consulted on a national funding formula for schools. We believe that the current funding arrangements are unfair and we remain committed to changing them.We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation, which we are analysing in detail. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. We are unable to confirm the funding each school will receive in future years.

Pre-school Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to allow nursery schools to offer the 30 hours of free early education for three and four year olds from September 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Maintained nursery schools are able to offer the 30 hours entitlement, as are all early years providers. However, if they cannot or do not want to offer the whole entitlement themselves, we would encourage them to work in partnership with others. We have supported this approach, for example by publishing practical advice on working in partnership, and by allowing childminders to spend up to half of their time working on non-domestic premises (such as schools).

Schools: Standards

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of the (a) maintained schools, (b) non-maintained schools, (c) independent schools, (d) providers on the Early Years Register and (e) providers registered with an early years childminder agency which provide early years foundation stage have been assessed as (i) outstanding, (ii) good, (iii) satisfactory and (iv) inadequate.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Ofsted is the non-ministerial government department responsible for the inspection of schools and childcare providers and publishes a regular series of statistics relating to inspection on its website, which can be viewed from this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted/about/statisticsWe have informed Ofsted of this question and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector will be writing to the hon. Member in response. A copy of that letter will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Pre-school Education

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of early years foundation stage providers have been assessed as (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c) satisfactory and (d) inadequate in (i) each region in England and (ii) England.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Ofsted is the non-ministerial government department responsible for the regulation of early education and childcare providers and publishes a regular series of statistics relating to inspection of this provision on its website, which can be viewed from this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted/about/statisticsWe have informed Ofsted of this question and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector will be writing to the hon. Member in response. A copy of that letter will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Leader of the House

Parliament Square: Road Works

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Leader of the House, if she was consulted before roadworks on Parliament Square were commenced during a parliamentary sitting rather than a recess period.

Andrea Leadsom: I have not been consulted regarding any roadworks on Parliament Square.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many contracts put out to tender by her Department were awarded to (a) charities and (b) social enterprises in each year since 2010.

Tracey Crouch: This information is not held centrally, and to obtain it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase the maximum custodial sentence for serious acts of animal cruelty.

George Eustice: The Sentencing Council recently updated its guidelines for magistrates. In their revised guideline, the Sentencing Council aims to ensure that the most serious cases of animal cruelty receive longer sentences of up to the maximum of 6 months’ imprisonment. The Government keeps maximum penalties under review and this includes sentencing trends, and whether there is any evidence that the courts may be finding their sentencing powers inadequate.

Agriculture: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the farming unions in Wales on developing a more targeted system of farming subsidies focused on farm productivity.

George Eustice: As we develop our proposals for agriculture reform, we want to listen to the views of everyone who has an interest in the future of the farming industry, including farming organisations. The Secretary of State will be holding discussions with the farming unions in Wales in the near future. Ministers have met representatives from FUW and NFU Wales on a number of occasions.

Zoos: Animal Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that animal welfare standards are maintained at a high standard in zoos and animal reserves; and what lessons have been learned from the incidents at South Lakes Safari Zoo.

George Eustice: The welfare of animals kept in zoos in England is covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for its welfare. The 2006 Act applies to zoo animals. Further to these general provisions, the welfare of animals in zoos in Great Britain is specifically covered by the 1981 Act. Under the 1981 Act zoos must comply with comprehensive animal health, welfare and husbandry standards, and be subject to an annual local authority inspection. Zoos have to be inspected at least every year by a local authority, with an inspection every two to three years using inspectors drawn from a list of qualified zoo inspectors kept by Defra. Defra also maintains the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. These are detailed standards for zoo management with which zoos are expected to comply. The standards are kept under review by Defra’s Zoos Expert Committee (ZEC) which includes leading animal welfare experts. The ZEC’s role is to provide independent, technical advice to UK Governments on zoo matters. ZEC’s remit includes keeping the operation and implementation of the zoo licensing system in the UK under review, and to advise, or make recommendations to, Defra or devolved governments, in relation to any legislative or administrative changes that may be necessary. Following the recent case in Cumbria, Lord Gardiner has tasked the ZEC with considering whether any further steps need to be taken to ensure animal welfare in zoos.

Weedkillers

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will assess the potential merits of issuing a stay to prevent Asulam or Asulox spray being used to control bracken.

George Eustice: It can be important to control bracken in order to protect agricultural land and conservation areas and to tackle ticks, which can carry diseases including Lyme disease. Mechanical methods such as cutting and crushing can be effective in some circumstances. Where there is a need to avoid harming other plants or the terrain does not allow access to cutting equipment, a selective herbicide, such as asulam, may be the safest and most effective method of managing bracken. Pesticides are only authorised if the risks to people and to the environment are considered acceptable. The use of asulam to control bracken is not routinely permitted. The case for a short-term, limited and controlled authorisation is considered each year on the basis of scientific advice from the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides. This year, asulam has been authorised for use from July to October 2017. Individual operators wishing apply asulam from the air are required to meet additional requirements under permitting arrangements administered by the Health and Safety Executive.

Agriculture: Migrant Workers

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with farmers and growers on future access to foreign workers; and whether he plans to reintroduce the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.

George Eustice: Ministers meet regularly with the agricultural sector. We are listening to the sector, considering the latest data, and working closely with industry to understand the position on labour demand and supply.  The Government intends to commission advice from the Migration Advisory Committee to better understand the reliance on EU migrant workers across the economy and consider the UK’s labour market needs. The Committee’s work will inform future migration options, including with respect to the agricultural sector and how to support the industry to secure the seasonal workforce that it needs.

Fisheries: Disease Control

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Scottish counterparts on the use by the Scottish salmon farming industry of live wrasse caught in south-west England to control lice; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: Officials from Defra and Marine Scotland are in regular contact on a number of matters, including the use of wrasse caught in south-west England by the aquaculture sector in Scotland. However, since most wrasse are caught inshore, local IFCAs have lead responsibility. The relevant Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities are developing initiatives to control the removals of live wrasse and protect local ecosystems in south-west England. The Southern IFCA has introduced technical measures to limit the catch of breeding wrasse. The Devon and Severn IFCA has introduced a permit system to restrict catch and require fully documented removal. The Cornwall IFCA has limited the fishery to three vessels.

Waste Management: EU Law

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on retaining the European Recycling Platform scheme and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulations after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The European Recycling Platform is an independent company that provides regulatory compliance services to businesses across a number of countries including UK. The Government does not manage this company. The Repeal Bill will ensure the whole body of existing EU environmental law (including the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013) continues to have effect in UK law, providing businesses and stakeholders with maximum certainty as we leave the EU.

Agriculture: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers in (a) South Lakeland District Council area and (b) Cumbria have not yet received their full basic payment scheme payment for 2016.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) does not hold information on Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments at a council level. As at close of business on 3 July, 99.7% of farmers in Cumbria have received their full BPS 2016 payment. There are 14 farmers still to receive their payment. Of these 7 are held subject to the completion of probate; 3 are complete but waiting on information from the Scottish Government; and 4 are still to complete processing. The RPA continues to focus on the completion of the remainder and dealing with any queries on BPS 2016 claims raised by farmers.

Agriculture

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Agriculture Bill is suited to the farming conditions in England.

George Eustice: The Agriculture Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech, will ensure that after we leave the EU we have an effective system in place to support UK farmers and protect our natural environment for future generations. We will listen to everyone who has an interest in the future of the industry as we prepare new approaches to support our farmers to grow more world-class food.

Fisheries: Treaties

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Government has not given notice  of the UK's withdrawal from the London Fisheries Convention 1964.

George Eustice: On 3 July, the Secretary of State tabled a Written Ministerial Statement which advised Parliament that the UK had notified its intention to withdraw from the 1964 London Fisheries Convention.

Air Pollution: Legal Costs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2017 to Question 1033, what estimate his Department has made of the total cost to the public purse of court costs relating to air quality compliance cases in each of the last three years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the future availability of seasonal labour in the agricultural sector.

George Eustice: We are listening to the agricultural sector, considering the latest data and working closely with industry to understand and analyse the labour demand and supply, now and when we leave the EU. For the longer-term, we are considering the options for our future immigration system carefully, and will look to develop a system which works for all. As part of this, the Government intends to commission advice from the Migration Advisory Committee to analyse the reliance on EU migrant workers across the economy and consider the UK’s labour market needs.

Department for Exiting the European Union

European Free Trade Association

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent meetings he has had with the secretariat of the European Free Trade Association.

Mr Robin Walker: The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has not met with the Secretariat of the European Free Trade Association. He met with the President of the EFTA Court in October 2016.

Brexit: Judgements

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when he plans to disclose the cost of the Supreme Court case R (on the application of Miller and another) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Mr Steve Baker: Details of the costs associated with the Article 50 case will be published in due course.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Ethnic Groups

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many of his senior negotiating team are from an ethnic minority background.

Mr Steve Baker: The information requested cannot be released as individuals may be identifiable. The Department for Exiting the European Union is committed to the creation of a diverse and inclusive working environment to ensure staff do not face any barriers to success, and all staff feel supported at work.The Department for Exiting the European Union has released information on the UK's negotiating team which is publicly available on gov.uk. This outlines the core negotiating team however departments are also building up their capacity in their own areas of responsibility. DExEU is drawing together expertise from a wide range of departments where there is specific relevant knowledge.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Females

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2017 to Question 160, whether he plans to increase the number of women in his senior negotiating team.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department for Exiting the European Union has released information on the UK's negotiating team which is publicly available on gov.uk. This outlines the core negotiating team however departments are also building up their capacity in their own areas of responsibility.The Department for Exiting the European Union is committed to the creation of a diverse and inclusive working environment to ensure staff do not face any barriers to success, and all staff feel supported at work. As such, the Department is committed to the steps established in the 2016 Talent Action Plan to help the Civil Service become the most inclusive employer in the UK. The department is also committed to working with a diverse range of external organisations, to ensure our work reflects a broad range of opinions across the UK.We will ensure we have the right skills to get the best deal for the UK.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, how many contracts put out to tender by the Law Officers' Departments were awarded to (a) charities and (b) social enterprises in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep central records of the status of suppliers and is therefore unable to verify if any contracts have been awarded to (a) charities and (b) social enterprises in each year since 2010. To identify any such expenditure would involve checking large numbers of paper records and would incur disproportionate cost (Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, part 2, clause 9).The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), HMCPSI and the Government Legal Department (GLD) have not awarded any contracts to charities or social enterprises since 2010.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority: Complaints

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how quickly the complaints received by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in 2015-16 were dealt with; and what the 10 most common complaints were.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) received 533 complaints about their service in the financial year 2015-16. This represents 1.3% of CICA’s live caseload. 49% of complaints were closed within 10 days. Where complaints took longer to close this was due to the number of enquiries required to fully investigate the complaint. In other cases, CICA were asked by the complainer not to close the complaint until a final decision was issued on the claim. The average time CICA took to deal with those complaints was 23.75 days. The most common complaint received by CICA related to delays in finalising claims. CICA aims to make compensation payments as quickly as possible, however, they have a duty to the taxpayer to fully investigate claims to make sure that the applicant gets the level of compensation they deserve. The 10 most common reasons for complaining about CICA’s service in 2015/16 were:Reason given for complaintPercentage of overall complaintsDelays68.95%Lack of updates on case progression11.33%Claim handling9.77%Failure to respond to letters4.10%Applicant provided with conflicting information2.93%Failure to provide timescales1.76%Failure to return phone calls0.59%Errors when recording telephone application information0.20%Impolite staff member0.20%Poor customer service0.20% The total number of complaints the CICA received in each of the last five years, including those cases (a) escalated to stage 2 and (b) progressed to stage 3, are as follows:YearComplaints receivedEscalated to Stage 2Escalated to Stage 32016-17112212072015-165333962014-154912692013-14204812012-13284105 Over half of complaints received in 2016/17 were from paid representatives. A significant portion of these were from firms of solicitors who lodged block complaints for their CICA caseload with a view to influencing the speed of the decision making process. During the course of 2016/17 the CICA revised their operating model and increased staff numbers following an extensive recruitment exercise. They have also recently introduced measures that develop and streamline digital processes, which have reduced the claim processing time by 30 days. The new online service, which will be introduced later this financial year, will allow applicants and their representatives to view the progress of their case online. It is expected that these measures will reduce the time taken to finalise claims and lead to a reduction in complaints.

Islam: Marriage

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will assess the merits of requiring Imams carrying out the Islamic marriage ceremony to ensure that a civil ceremony has already taken place.

Dominic Raab: The Government acknowledges concerns raised about marriage ceremonies that do not give rise to legal rights, and is committed to careful consideration of the issue. That is one of the reasons why the Prime Minister, in her previous role as Home Secretary, launched the independent Sharia review in May last year. These concerns are central to the review, and the Government is considering the issue in light of the report by Dame Louise Casey on opportunity and integration, published in December.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority: Complaints

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has received in each of the last five years; and how many of those cases were (a) escalated to stage 2 and (b) progressed to stage 3.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) received 533 complaints about their service in the financial year 2015-16. This represents 1.3% of CICA’s live caseload. 49% of complaints were closed within 10 days. Where complaints took longer to close this was due to the number of enquiries required to fully investigate the complaint. In other cases, CICA were asked by the complainer not to close the complaint until a final decision was issued on the claim. The average time CICA took to deal with those complaints was 23.75 days. The most common complaint received by CICA related to delays in finalising claims. CICA aims to make compensation payments as quickly as possible, however, they have a duty to the taxpayer to fully investigate claims to make sure that the applicant gets the level of compensation they deserve. The 10 most common reasons for complaining about CICA’s service in 2015/16 were:Reason given for complaintPercentage of overall complaintsDelays68.95%Lack of updates on case progression11.33%Claim handling9.77%Failure to respond to letters4.10%Applicant provided with conflicting information2.93%Failure to provide timescales1.76%Failure to return phone calls0.59%Errors when recording telephone application information0.20%Impolite staff member0.20%Poor customer service0.20% The total number of complaints the CICA received in each of the last five years, including those cases (a) escalated to stage 2 and (b) progressed to stage 3, are as follows:YearComplaints receivedEscalated to Stage 2Escalated to Stage 32016-17112212072015-165333962014-154912692013-14204812012-13284105 Over half of complaints received in 2016/17 were from paid representatives. A significant portion of these were from firms of solicitors who lodged block complaints for their CICA caseload with a view to influencing the speed of the decision making process. During the course of 2016/17 the CICA revised their operating model and increased staff numbers following an extensive recruitment exercise. They have also recently introduced measures that develop and streamline digital processes, which have reduced the claim processing time by 30 days. The new online service, which will be introduced later this financial year, will allow applicants and their representatives to view the progress of their case online. It is expected that these measures will reduce the time taken to finalise claims and lead to a reduction in complaints.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many claims have been rejected by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, by the reason for refusal, in each of the last five years.

Dr Phillip Lee: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 06 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) received 533 complaints about their service in the financial year 2015-16. This represents 1.3% of CICA’s live caseload. 49% of complaints were closed within 10 days. Where complaints took longer to close this was due to the number of enquiries required to fully investigate the complaint. In other cases, CICA were asked by the complainer not to close the complaint until a final decision was issued on the claim. The average time CICA took to deal with those complaints was 23.75 days. The most common complaint received by CICA related to delays in finalising claims. CICA aims to make compensation payments as quickly as possible, however, they have a duty to the taxpayer to fully investigate claims to make sure that the applicant gets the level of compensation they deserve. The 10 most common reasons for complaining about CICA’s service in 2015/16 were:Reason given for complaintPercentage of overall complaintsDelays68.95%Lack of updates on case progression11.33%Claim handling9.77%Failure to respond to letters4.10%Applicant provided with conflicting information2.93%Failure to provide timescales1.76%Failure to return phone calls0.59%Errors when recording telephone application information0.20%Impolite staff member0.20%Poor customer service0.20% The total number of complaints the CICA received in each of the last five years, including those cases (a) escalated to stage 2 and (b) progressed to stage 3, are as follows:YearComplaints receivedEscalated to Stage 2Escalated to Stage 32016-17112212072015-165333962014-154912692013-14204812012-13284105 Over half of complaints received in 2016/17 were from paid representatives. A significant portion of these were from firms of solicitors who lodged block complaints for their CICA caseload with a view to influencing the speed of the decision making process. During the course of 2016/17 the CICA revised their operating model and increased staff numbers following an extensive recruitment exercise. They have also recently introduced measures that develop and streamline digital processes, which have reduced the claim processing time by 30 days. The new online service, which will be introduced later this financial year, will allow applicants and their representatives to view the progress of their case online. It is expected that these measures will reduce the time taken to finalise claims and lead to a reduction in complaints. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) publishes data about the reasons claims are rejected in its annual reports at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=criminal-injuries-compensation-authority&publication_type=corporate-reports The figures published in the annual reports show the number of times each rejection reason was used. For some applications there may have been more than one reason for rejection. This means that the total number of reasons for rejection is higher than the actual number of claims refused. The accurate total of rejected claims for the years specified is as follows: Financial yearRejected cases2012/1324,4112013/1423,8032014/1520,0662015/1615,2432016/1712,411 Information about the time CICA has taken to reach decisions on claims over the past few years can also be found in its annual reports (see link above). The number of full time equivalent staff employed in CICA as at 31 March 2017 was 291.2. The table below shows the number of staff CICA has employed in managerial positions over the past 5 years:DateBand D (first line manager) to Senior Civil Service (SCS)Band B (senior manager) to SCS onlyMarch 2017156 (plus 2 on temporary promotion)24March 2016112 (plus 7 on temporary promotion)16March 2015132 (plus 14 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 1 on temporary promotion)March 2014136 (plus 15 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 5 on temporary promotion)March 2013145 (plus 19 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 9 on temporary promotion)Complaints in CICA are registered by two staff within the Corporate Services team and then allocated to the relevant team to deal with the complaint in line with CICA’s complaints process. CICA teams have staff members assigned to the role of complaints champion in addition to their day to day duties. The number of complaints champions fluctuates depending on demand and staff movement. Complaints champions are responsible for handling complaints and team managers oversee the complaints process in each of their respective areas. This group regularly meets to look at improvements to our complaints handling processes. CICA does not have a record of the number of complaint champions for the last five years due to the fluctuating nature of this work.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) received 533 complaints about their service in the financial year 2015-16. This represents 1.3% of CICA’s live caseload. 49% of complaints were closed within 10 days. Where complaints took longer to close this was due to the number of enquiries required to fully investigate the complaint. In other cases, CICA were asked by the complainer not to close the complaint until a final decision was issued on the claim. The average time CICA took to deal with those complaints was 23.75 days. The most common complaint received by CICA related to delays in finalising claims. CICA aims to make compensation payments as quickly as possible, however, they have a duty to the taxpayer to fully investigate claims to make sure that the applicant gets the level of compensation they deserve. The 10 most common reasons for complaining about CICA’s service in 2015/16 were:Reason given for complaintPercentage of overall complaintsDelays68.95%Lack of updates on case progression11.33%Claim handling9.77%Failure to respond to letters4.10%Applicant provided with conflicting information2.93%Failure to provide timescales1.76%Failure to return phone calls0.59%Errors when recording telephone application information0.20%Impolite staff member0.20%Poor customer service0.20% The total number of complaints the CICA received in each of the last five years, including those cases (a) escalated to stage 2 and (b) progressed to stage 3, are as follows:YearComplaints receivedEscalated to Stage 2Escalated to Stage 32016-17112212072015-165333962014-154912692013-14204812012-13284105 Over half of complaints received in 2016/17 were from paid representatives. A significant portion of these were from firms of solicitors who lodged block complaints for their CICA caseload with a view to influencing the speed of the decision making process. During the course of 2016/17 the CICA revised their operating model and increased staff numbers following an extensive recruitment exercise. They have also recently introduced measures that develop and streamline digital processes, which have reduced the claim processing time by 30 days. The new online service, which will be introduced later this financial year, will allow applicants and their representatives to view the progress of their case online. It is expected that these measures will reduce the time taken to finalise claims and lead to a reduction in complaints. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) publishes data about the reasons claims are rejected in its annual reports at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=criminal-injuries-compensation-authority&publication_type=corporate-reports The figures published in the annual reports show the number of times each rejection reason was used. For some applications there may have been more than one reason for rejection. This means that the total number of reasons for rejection is higher than the actual number of claims refused. The accurate total of rejected claims for the years specified is as follows: Financial yearRejected cases2012/1324,4112013/1423,8032014/1520,0662015/1615,2432016/1712,411 Information about the time CICA has taken to reach decisions on claims over the past few years can also be found in its annual reports (see link above). The number of full time equivalent staff employed in CICA as at 31 March 2017 was 291.2. The table below shows the number of staff CICA has employed in managerial positions over the past 5 years:DateBand D (first line manager) to Senior Civil Service (SCS)Band B (senior manager) to SCS onlyMarch 2017156 (plus 2 on temporary promotion)24March 2016112 (plus 7 on temporary promotion)16March 2015132 (plus 14 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 1 on temporary promotion)March 2014136 (plus 15 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 5 on temporary promotion)March 2013145 (plus 19 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 9 on temporary promotion)Complaints in CICA are registered by two staff within the Corporate Services team and then allocated to the relevant team to deal with the complaint in line with CICA’s complaints process. CICA teams have staff members assigned to the role of complaints champion in addition to their day to day duties. The number of complaints champions fluctuates depending on demand and staff movement. Complaints champions are responsible for handling complaints and team managers oversee the complaints process in each of their respective areas. This group regularly meets to look at improvements to our complaints handling processes. CICA does not have a record of the number of complaint champions for the last five years due to the fluctuating nature of this work.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average length of time people have waited for decisions from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in each of the last five years.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has employed in (a) managerial positions and (b) the complaints team in each of the last five years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) publishes data about the reasons claims are rejected in its annual reports at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=criminal-injuries-compensation-authority&publication_type=corporate-reports The figures published in the annual reports show the number of times each rejection reason was used. For some applications there may have been more than one reason for rejection. This means that the total number of reasons for rejection is higher than the actual number of claims refused. The accurate total of rejected claims for the years specified is as follows: Financial yearRejected cases2012/1324,4112013/1423,8032014/1520,0662015/1615,2432016/1712,411 Information about the time CICA has taken to reach decisions on claims over the past few years can also be found in its annual reports (see link above). The number of full time equivalent staff employed in CICA as at 31 March 2017 was 291.2. The table below shows the number of staff CICA has employed in managerial positions over the past 5 years:DateBand D (first line manager) to Senior Civil Service (SCS)Band B (senior manager) to SCS onlyMarch 2017156 (plus 2 on temporary promotion)24March 2016112 (plus 7 on temporary promotion)16March 2015132 (plus 14 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 1 on temporary promotion)March 2014136 (plus 15 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 5 on temporary promotion)March 2013145 (plus 19 on temporary promotion)24 (plus 9 on temporary promotion)Complaints in CICA are registered by two staff within the Corporate Services team and then allocated to the relevant team to deal with the complaint in line with CICA’s complaints process. CICA teams have staff members assigned to the role of complaints champion in addition to their day to day duties. The number of complaints champions fluctuates depending on demand and staff movement. Complaints champions are responsible for handling complaints and team managers oversee the complaints process in each of their respective areas. This group regularly meets to look at improvements to our complaints handling processes. CICA does not have a record of the number of complaint champions for the last five years due to the fluctuating nature of this work.

Trials: Liverpool

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were heard at (a) Liverpool Crown Court and (b) Liverpool Magistrates' Court in each of the last six years; of those cases how many related to (i) murder, (ii) rape, (iii) assault by penetration, (iv) sexual assault, (v) sexual offences against children, (vi) child rape, (vii) grievous bodily harm with intent, (viii) grievous bodiy harm, (ix) assault and battery, (x) assault occasioning actual bodily harm, (xi) female genital mutilation, (xii) child abduction, (xiii) robbery, (xiv) theft, (xv) offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1991, (xvi) offences relating to the possession of a gun or knife, (xvii) terrorism, (xviii) fraud, (xix) illegal entry and deception and other immigration offences, (xx) offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and (xxi) burglary; and of those cases in each of those categories how many resulted in (A) conviction, (B) an acquittal, (C) a caution and (D) a mistrial.

Dominic Raab: The information available centrally, on volumes dealt with by the Crown Court, is in the attached table. Information about receipts by offence at magistrates’ courts could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It should be noted that, from September 2016, changes were made to the sending paths through which the Crown Court receives its cases, impacting its caseload. It is not possible to show from centrally held information how many of these Crown Court cases resulted in conviction, acquittal or mistrial because this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. A caution is an out of court disposal. 



Trial Case Receipts by Offence type
(Excel SpreadSheet, 14.7 KB)

Crime: Victims

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to put the Victims Code into law.

Dr Phillip Lee: I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given to PQ 1092 and 1105 on 4th July 2017. As I said then, on 18 January the previous government announced that it would set out a strategy for victims of crime within 12 months, and that it would take the appropriate action to give effect to the strategy. We have also committed to enshrine victims’ entitlements in law, making clear what level of service they should expect from the police, courts and criminal justice system. Now the election has passed further consideration can be given to this work. We will announce further details in due course.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the success rate for appeals against decisions on (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment entitlement in Barnsley has been in the most recent 12-month period for which data is available.

Dominic Raab: The table below contains the requested information.Clearances in Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) in Barnsley1 for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)2 and Personal Independence Payment (PIP)Percentage found in favour of Appellant (at hearing)3 in 2016-174ESA68%PIP63%  SSCS data are attributed to hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address, in this case Wellington House in Barnsley. Includes ESA and ESA (Reassessments). This is based on the number found in favour as a percentage of the appeals cleared at hearing, in line with published statistics. 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.The data are a subset of official statistics extracted from the case management system on a different date. This a further breakdown of data published on gov.uk.

Prisoners: Death

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how does a prison notify the next of kin of a prisoner's death in custody.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Each prison is required to have at least one family liaison officer or FLO. The FLO acts as the family’s chief point of contact with the prison. They must inform the prisoner’s nominated next of kin in person, as soon as possible following the prisoner’s death. If it is not possible to do this in person, for example because of distance, the FLO must arrange a follow-up visit promptly. They will then continue to meet the family and/or correspond with them, according to their wishes, to offer continuing information and support until all investigations of the death are concluded. Further details can be found in Prison Service Instruction 64/2011, which can be viewed on gov.uk.

Prisoners: Suicide

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner deaths attributed to suicide were recorded in prisons in each year since 2010.

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner deaths were recorded in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Improving safety is an urgent priority for this Government. We are taking immediate action to strengthen the frontline by recruiting around 2,500 more prison officers and rolling out improved training for staff on suicide and self-harm reduction. The Government publishes statistics on deaths in custody quarterly, and updated detailed tables annually. They can be viewed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2016--2.Numbers of deaths in custody for the last ten years (including those that were self-inflicted) are published in Table 1.1 of “Deaths in prison custody 1978 to 2016”. The tables will next be updated and published on 27 July 2017.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish the findings of his Department's review into Transforming Rehabilitation.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have carried out an overarching review of the probation system to improve outcomes for offenders and communities while making sure public protection remains our top priority. This has influenced the changes to how CRCs are paid and held to account. More detailed work is ongoing and we will provide an update on the review in due course.

Young Offenders

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many under-18 year olds have been starred up in each prison in each of the last three years.

Dr Phillip Lee: Starring up is the term used to define the early transition process whereby young people under the age of 18 can be moved into the young adult estate prior to their eighteenth birthday. The starring up process can be used for a range of reasons, but past usage has mainly been in relating to the management of disruptive or violent behaviour or transfers to Mother and Baby Units. In practice, the starring up process is rarely used and then only in exceptional circumstances. Data in relation to the number of young people who were starred-up into the young adult estate in each of the last three years (by the establishment they were starred-up from) is provided in the table below: HMPPS under 18 YOI201420152016Cookham   Feltham   Werrington  1WetherbyTo date, the data for the current year (2017) is:   HMPPS under 18 YOI2017Cookham Feltham1Werrington Wetherby

Community Rehabilitation Companies: Finance

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what changes his Department has made to the funding of community rehabilitation companies.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have undertaken an overarching review of probation, looking at the standards we set for providers and how we hold them to account. We have already made some changes to how CRCs are paid so they can focus on activities that best rehabilitate offenders and keep society safe. The details of these changes are commercially sensitive, however the contract modification notices are published online at the Official Journal for the European Union.

Cabinet Office

Corruption

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to publish the Anti-Corruption Strategy.

Chris Skidmore: The government is working on a new Anti-Corruption Strategy which will be published in due course.

Cybercrime: Crime Prevention

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what comparative assessment he has made of spend on cyber security in the public and private sectors.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what comparative assessment he has made of resources allocated to cyber security in the (a) public and (b) private sector.

Caroline Nokes: The National Cyber Security Strategy is supported by £1.9bn of transformational funding to defend our people, businesses, and assets; deter our adversaries; and develop the skills and capabilities we need in both the public and private sectors. This funding is just part of the total resources and spend on cyber security across the public sector, complementing private sector investment. We have made no comparative assessment of the resources or spend allocated to cyber security in the public and private sectors.

House of Commons Commission

Parliament: Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many hon. Members' passwords were compromised in the recent cyber attack on Parliament.

Tom Brake: On the evidence currently available, the passwords of three hon. Members were compromised in the recent cyber attack on Parliament.

Parliament: Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what information the Commission holds on the number of passwords belonging to Members of the House of Lords which were compromised in the recent cyber attack on Parliament.

Tom Brake: The House of Commons Commission does not hold this information. The hon. Lady may wish to seek the information from the House of Lords authorities.